Our Industry
Australian Beekeeping
Beekeepers are stewards of the natural environment. For many, beekeeping is more than just bees, much, much more. Travelling around the landscape, observing the complexity of flowering and reproductive cycles of native flora, following the 'keets' and other birdlife, watching rainfall patterns, looking at all the different species of flora, observing the cues that the bush is putting out and an endless list of other things is representative of just how clued in and immersed in the natural environment a good beekeeper needs to be.
There is a level of expertise and generational knowledge held by beekeepers that is found nowhere else. Often dismissed as a 'cottage' industry, we are professionals and unofficial ecologists, who are a massively undervalued part of the environmental landscape. There are very important elements of what beekeepers do that can provide science, traditional owners, conservationists and the like with incredibly valuable information. We must change the narrative that we are 'just beekeepers'.
Find out how BICWA is protecting the interests of producers and co-dependent industries and organisations by learning who represents us on the committee.
We love an acronym but what do they mean? Find out below.
𝐀𝐇𝐁𝐈𝐂 – Australian Honeybee Industry Council is the national representative body for the honey bee industry.
𝐁𝐈𝐂𝐖𝐀 – Bee Industry Council of Western Australia is us! We are your one stop shop for everything in the West Australian Bee Industry. We have the knowledge to share with you and connect you with who you need to know, no matter the stage of your beekeeping journey. BICWA members are Registered Beekeepers (recreational or commercial), Friends of the Bee Industry members, or Alliance Partner members. Each Australian State and Territory may have their own individual councils to refer to.
𝐖𝐀𝐀𝐒 – Western Australia Apiarists' Society. WAAS members are beekeepers and people simply interested in bees. WAAS provides education, support, fellowship opportunities and third-party insurance for your bees and honey products.
𝐀𝐏𝐂 – Agricultural Producers Commission. The APC Act 1988 provides Western Australian agricultural producers with the legal framework to collect funds to provide for the development and security of growers and producers and their industry sectors. Beekeeping is one of these committees. All registered beekeepers pay a Fee For Service (FFS) annually to contribute to this framework.
