Beekeeping on Crown Lands in NSW

From a Beekeeping perspective, “Crown Lands” are most NSW Government owned lands other than land managed by Forestry Corporation (i.e. “State Forests”), NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (e.g. National Parks, State Conservation Areas) or Local Land Services (e.g. TSRs).

Crown Lands have a variety of ownership, management structures and attributes which may affect their suitability for beekeeping.

If you identify a potential site for beekeeping, the area you wish to use must be determined as suitable by the respective land manager, you must secure permission to use the site and you must get a beekeeping permit.

If you have identified and visited a site you believe to be suitable for beekeeping and appears to be on Crown Lands, the following summarises the steps required to secure a permit.

1. Identify the Lot and DP of the site. This can be done through the Six Maps website:

a. Open the Six Maps website on a desktop browser at: https://maps.six.nsw.gov.au

b. Move around the map by dragging the map with your cursor or use the Search box at the top left to search for a nearby locality.

c. Once you have found the location on the map, click on the “i” in the centre top to activate the Identity tool.

d. Click to add a point on the map.

e. At the bottom left of the screen an “Identity Tool” box will appear listing the lot and DP (“plan”) numbers. (If you click on the lot or DP number, the boundary of the lot will be displayed on the map. The images above are for illustrative purposes only. Please consult the “Help” features on the Sixmaps website for support using this tool)

2. Contact Crown Lands on 1300 886 235 or via cl.enquiries@crownland.nsw.gov.au with the Lot and DP number. Crown Lands will identify the land manager for the site (if any) and do initial checks for anything that might make the site unsuitable for beekeeping (e.g. existing leases, other conflicting uses). If there are no immediate issues you will be asked to complete an application form and may be required to gain written permission from the land manager.

3. Further checks will be completed based on your form. If these are positive and permission is secured from the land manager, Crown Lands will get the ministerial approval required and provide the approval letter to you. Submitting an application does not guarantee a permit will be offered and applications and enquiries will be considered on a First Come, First Served basis.

4. Submit the letter with an apiary permit application form to the Apiary Sites Service Desk via apiary.sites@dpi.nsw.gov.au. Standard apiary permit fees apply.

5. If your application is successful you will be issued an invoice via BPASS. Once payment is made a Forestry Permit will be issued via on behalf of Forestry Corporation NSW and you can start to use the site.

If you have further questions about this process please contact the apiary sites service desk on apiary.sites@dpi.nsw.gov.au