Beekeeping on Crown Land in Western Australia

The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) manages beekeeper access to all public land through the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 . Apiary sites occur on all types of Crown land.

At present, the department has issued 3046 current apiary site permits on all land tenures and around 1633 permits are on land vested in the Conservation Commission. Some 75 per cent of the honey resource in Western Australia is located on these lands. There are 96 beekeepers registered to collect honey from these sites.

Permits can be issued for up to five years. Stringent environmental conditions ensure compliance with DEC's management requirements, water catchment guidelines, dieback control and fire prevention.

The department can grant apiary site permits for the purpose of keeping an apiary on land vested in the Conservation Commission, subject to consultation with the Commission and the approval of the Minister for the Environment. The department also seeks the approval of other government agencies when applications are received for the placement of beehives on land not managed by DEC.

Apiary Site Permit Application Form (pdf, 427kb)

More information

If you can't find the information you are seeking in these pages, please email the Apiary Site Officer at apiary@dec.wa.gov.au or phone (08) 9334 0529.