The wasps and bees around your home
Guide 6 · Beekeepers
Varroa mite and backyard beekeepers
Varroa mite is a parasite of European honey bees that has spread in Australia since 2022, and the national response moved from eradicating it to managing it after September 2023. For a hobby beekeeper, that means registering your hives, checking them for mites, following your own state’s reporting rules and treating with care, because mites resistant to the main synthetic treatments have now been confirmed in several states.
General information, not legal advice. The rules for keeping bees belong to each state and territory and they have changed often; check your own department’s page, linked from the national varroa program’s reporting page.
What varroa is
An external parasite, around 1mm across and reddish-brown, which can be seen with the naked eye.
It feeds on the bees and weakens and kills colonies; infested colonies are likely to die within 3 to 4 years if left untreated. It also spreads honey bee viruses.
Australian native bees. The ACT says varroa poses no risk to human health or food safety.
Western Australia’s department lists the ways it spreads: passing between bees and brood, bees calling at infected hives, swarms and bees drifting between hives, beekeepers’ gear and clothing, and infected hives being moved.
How the response changed
From the Australian Government’s outbreak page, last updated in June 2026, and the national program’s site.
- June 2022
Varroa mite detected in sentinel hives at the Port of Newcastle, New South Wales.
- September 2023
After a 14-month emergency response, eradication judged no longer achievable. The response became a program to slow the spread and help beekeepers detect and manage the mite.
- December 2024
The ACT lifted its restrictions on bringing honey bees, hives and equipment in from NSW, as no longer necessary or effective.
- February 2026
The national transition to management program ended on 6 February 2026; its resources stay online, but are no longer updated.
- Early 2026
Mites resistant to treatment confirmed in a small number of apiaries in northern New South Wales and Queensland.
- May 2026
Victoria and South Australia confirmed resistance to both major synthetic treatment groups.
The mite has been detected in South Australia, Victoria, the ACT and Queensland as well as New South Wales. Western Australia says it has not been detected there.
State by state
A selection of four jurisdictions, as their pages stood on 8 October 2026. The pages do not all agree: the national program’s site, frozen at 6 February 2026, says varroa is notifiable in all states and territories. The ACT’s own pages disagree with each other: its varroa page, last updated 8 September 2026, says varroa “is no longer notifiable”, while its bees page still lists “Varroa mite (Varroa destructor and Varroa jacobsoni) and Varroosis” among the notifiable biosecurity matters for bees, which it says there is “a legal obligation to notify the ACT Government” about. Your own state’s current page is the one that counts.
| Where | Varroa on the official page | If you find it | Registering hives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Australia | A declared pest, not detected in WA, and a prohibited organism under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007. | Anyone who finds or suspects it must report it to DPIRD. | Everyone keeping honey bees in WA is legally required to register with the department. |
| Queensland | Category 2 restricted matter; it remains notifiable. | All beekeepers must report, control or contain it. | You must be registered to keep bees and mark your hives with a hive identification number; non-commercial beekeepers pay no fee. |
| ACT | The two ACT pages disagree. The varroa page says it has been detected in hives on several properties and is a biosecurity threat, “however, it is no longer notifiable, and you do not need to report its presence”. The bees page says some bee diseases are notifiable biosecurity matters, meaning “there is a legal obligation to notify the ACT Government”, and its list includes “Varroa mite (Varroa destructor and Varroa jacobsoni) and Varroosis”. | Contact ACT Biosecurity. Both pages point there: the varroa page says that if you suspect you have found varroa mite in your hives, contact ACT Biosecurity, and the bees page names ACT Biosecurity for a suspected or confirmed notifiable matter. | Registration is mandatory under the Biosecurity Regulation 2025; it is free and lasts 3 years. |
| New South Wales | According to the national program’s site (as at 6 February 2026), prohibited matter under the NSW Biosecurity Act 2015, and notifiable. | In NSW you only need to report varroa once, the same page says. | Check NSW’s own page, linked from the national reporting page. |
Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory: their reporting pages are linked from the national program’s reporting page.
A backyard beekeeper’s checklist
Each point names whose advice it is.
- Register your hivesWestern Australia, Queensland and the ACT all require it (see the table). Queensland adds that native beehives do not need to be registered.
- Check for mites on a scheduleWestern Australia says the Australian Honey Bee Industry Biosecurity Code of Practice requires every beekeeper to test a minimum of one hive in each apiary in spring, summer and autumn (three times a year) for external parasites, using a sugar shake, an alcohol wash or drone uncapping. Queensland asks beekeepers to monitor hives every month, and before, during and after treatments.
- Know your state’s reporting ruleReporting requirements vary by state; the national reporting page links each one.
- Treat with careThe national outbreak page asks beekeepers to monitor mite numbers before, during and after treatments; to check colonies mid-treatment if resistant mites may be in the area; to strictly follow label and permit conditions; to use integrated pest management and non-chemical methods where practical; and to ask their primary industries department for help if they suspect a treatment has failed.
- Control swarmsThe same page lists swarm control to reduce feral honey bee sources of reinfestation, and Queensland asks beekeepers not to bring swarms into their apiaries until they have been treated and a negative wash has been done. See bee swarms.
- Learn the methodsThe ACT points beekeepers to free online workshops on managing varroa through the national education program.
Keeping bees near neighbours
Queensland’s page asks backyard beekeepers to check local council laws, to tell neighbours before placing hives, and to manage hives so bees don’t become a nuisance. It suggests placing hive entrances so bees fly across your own property, or using a barrier such as a hedge or shade cloth to send them up and over, and providing water so bees are less likely to visit neighbours’ yards and pools.
Beekeepers are among the people healthdirect says allergen immunotherapy is advised for. See stings and allergic reactions.