SINCE last Monday, beekeepers with Victorian registered hives have been able to apply for a permit to move their hives from New South Wales into Victoria.

In a milestone for the national varroa mite eradication response, there is now national acceptance that the state of NSW is free rom the pest, apart from those areas within a 25-kilometre radius of an infected hive.

Acting Chief Plant Health Officer, Dr Stephen Dibley, said this national decision has been made following extensive surveillance (with 99.99 per cent confidence) showing that varroa mite is not present in the NSW ‘blue zone’.

“Victoria welcomes this announcement, and we can now begin assessing permit applications to move hives from NSW into Victoria that were unable to cross the border prior to the national acceptance of area freedom in NSW’s blue zone,” he said.

“Initially, only Victorian registered hives in the blue zone that can demonstrate compliance with testing and traceability requirements will be able to be moved.”

In the coming weeks, non-Victorian registered hives will also be able to apply for a permit to enter Victoria.

“While hives in the blue zone are of low risk, Victoria is maintaining a cautious and staged approach to welcoming hives from NSW to ensure that biosecurity risks can be appropriately managed.”

“There will also be an increased testing regime required for all hives moving into Victoria.”

It is every beekeeper’s responsibility to ensure they are up to date with current movement requirements before moving their bees and related items.

All movement requests will be subject to strict permit conditions and active compliance checks.

For more detailed eligibility criteria, information, and applications, visit the permit application page on the Agriculture Victoria website.

Visit the NSW Department of Primary Industries website for more information about the area of freedom announcement.