CEO Report May 2026

Over the last month AHBIC has been consumed by the miticide resistance issue and the impacts that are being felt on the ground. We have been actively talking to the government and pollination dependent industries to raise awareness and find support for our industry. We have met with Research and Development Corporation (RDC’s) to ensure all the research is being directed into the right areas and have been working with our member bodies to find support options for industry.

We are in the middle of conference season with the AHBIC team recently attending the NSWAA conference in Bathurst. The 300 delegates heard from many excellent speakers with a clear focus on understanding resistant mites and the challenges that our beekeepers will be facing. Other presenters talked to the details of the new mite population, how we can test for resistance and how viruses interact with varroa.

Plant Health Australia AGM

Last week I attended the mid-year series of plant health meetings in Adelaide.  A weeklong series of meetings that cover all things plant biosecurity and The Deed. It was a great opportunity to network with the other 57 signatories to The Deed including pollination dependent industries and jurisdictional biosecurity leaders.

Every 5 years The Deed is reviewed to incorporate lessons learned from incursions and work through any required amendments to The Deed agreement to ensure it delivers effective responses. The initial consultation phase of The Deed review is complete along with a deed signatory workshop. Whilst it is not expected that there will be significant changes we are pleased that there will be improvements.

Imported Honey

In this newsletter we have included an article about the recent national honey authenticity survey and what it means for the industry. This is positive for beekeepers, with DAFF recognising the seriousness of the issue and showing a commitment to finding solutions for industry.

Honey Bee Industry Champions

AHBIC was successful in receiving a capacity building grant from AgriFutures Australia recently. The grant has enabled eight up-and-coming beekeepers and researchers to receive up to $1,000 grant each to assist with the cost of attending a state conference. We received several quality responses and chose 8 successful candidates. Applicants were able to nominate the conference they wanted to attend, and we had 4 recipients attend the NSW conference in Bathurst. The remaining successful candidates will attend their chosen conference in the coming weeks. AHBIC believes this is a great small project to encourage new beekeepers and researchers to take steps to further themselves and their careers within our industry.

Changes to the BOLT course platform

Plant Health Australia (PHA) have been working toward launching a new platform for the Biosecurity Online Training (BOLT) for beekeepers course. PHA have noted the previous website management business became insolvent, forcing PHA to negotiate a new contract to continue the BOLT course access for industry. The new web platform, transitioning between now and 30 June 2026, will result in a new look course page but the online content will remain the same. We are looking forward to a step by step process being provided by PHA in the coming days to share with beekeepers in preparation to the transition from old to new. If you are due to re-do the BOLT course between now and 30 June, and have any questions about the website, course or certificates, we recommend you reach out to us via Bianca@honeybee.org.au or to your state Bee Biosecurity Officer who will soon have details to support you through the change.

The Month Ahead

There a number of conferences in June including Hort Connections in Adelaide, the Victorian Apiarists Association conference in Melbourne, the Queensland Beekeepers Association in Bundaberg, followed by the South Australian Apiarists Association conference in Morphettville. An AHBIC team member or Executive Director will be present at all, and we look forward to talking with beekeepers and learning from the presentations.

In addition to the conferences, I will be working on a submission for the National Biosecurity Reform consultation, participating in the ACCC Ag Committee Working Group, in addition to our continued lobbying to government around varroa impacts.

There are many beekeepers doing it tough at the moment, always remember to be kind to one another and look out for your mates and colleagues as we navigate these challenging times together.

Danny LeFeurve

CEO