AFB Levy

funded by beekeepers, for beekeepers

A pest management plan 

American foulbrood (AFB) is the most serious disease affecting honey bees in New Zealand. AFB infects honey bee larvae causing the larvae to die. Each infected larvae produces 2.5 billion spores. These in turn infect other honey bee larvae until the hive collapses and dies. Unlike most other countries, New Zealand beekeepers do not use antibiotics to control AFB (the use of drugs to control AFB is illegal under New Zealand law). There is no cure for AFB. Spores from infected colonies are very resistant and can survive for over 35 years.  

In 1997, New Zealand’s beekeepers agreed to regulations in the form of the National American Foulbrood Pest Management Plan (AFB NPMP) to ensure that all beekeepers have legal obligations to control AFB. Monitoring and auditing beekeeper compliance with these regulations is funded through a compulsory levy set as per the Biosecurity (American Foulbrood - Beekeeper Levy) Order 2003.

Having an NPMP has successfully prevented the reported incidence levels of AFB from increasing to the devastatingly high levels of the late 1980s – early 1990s.

Why it matters

The New Zealand apiculture sector is worth over $500 million. This is comprised of domestic honey, export honey, and pollination services.

AFB infected hives fail to grow to the strength required to produce a commercial crop of honey or effective pollination services. The downstream effects include hive losses, reduced honey sales, market access issues to certain overseas markets, pollination, and income loss. 

To support our beekeeping sector, New Zealand needs healthy honeybee colonies that are not affected by AFB.

The 2025/26

levy

Pursuant to clause 12 of the Biosecurity (American Foulbrood – Beekeeper Levy) Order 2003, notice is hereby given that for the 2025/26 levy year, the rates of the beekeeper and colony levies (exclusive of GST) and the basis of calculation will be: 

$40 per beekeeper for the base levy

$1.95 per colony owned by the beekeeper as of 31 March 2025.

We would like to thank beekeepers for their feedback on the proposed levy rate and budget for 2025/26. Of the 8,188 beekeepers invited to submit their views about the levy consultation, 93 responded with submissions via SurveyMonkey, post, or email.

We are grateful to beekeepers for their commitment to eliminating AFB. We take the responsibility of administering beekeeper levy funds very seriously and, as a result, every decision around expense is carefully considered. We will continue to constantly review our operational expenditure to ensure that we are delivering an efficient and cost-effective service to beekeepers.

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The levy order 2003

View the document reprinted on 10 July 2020 EAST

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Levy Consultation

View the documents east

What does the

levy fund?

Extension research and communications

  • Suspect AFB laboratory tests

  • AFB website

  • Beekeeper Communication

  • AFB elimination communications and collateral

Apiary register

  • Ongoing investment into HiveHub

  • Beekeeper registration / deregistration

  • Apiary registration / deregistration

  • Annual Disease Returns

  • Certificate of Inspections

  • Processing DECA applications

  • Supporting beekeepers with compliance and obligations

Monitoring and audit

  • Apiary Inspections

  • Surveillance of AFB hotspot

Compliance and enforcement

  • Unregistered apiaries

  • Abandoned apiaries

  • COI default inspections

  • Follow up of non-compliance

  • Monitoring high-risk beekeepers

Governance management and administration

  • Audits

  • Bank fees

  • Legal fees

  • Insurance

  • Office expenses

  • Board expenses

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Frequently asked questions

Find out more EAST

AFB levy

payments

You can make your AFB PMP levy payment via the following:

Via HiveHub

Your invoice can be paid via credit card using the “pay now” button on the invoice page in HiveHub. 

Direct to our bank account

Apiculture New Zealand Inc
ANZ Bank
06 0317 0615820 02 (or 002) 

You must use your beekeeper number as the reference. 

Any queries relating to your levies, please direct to levies@nzbb.org.nz or phone 0800 232 767.

Levy invoices generated as of 31 March are due for payment
by 1 June each year. 

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Levy process flow chart east

AFB levy

FAQs

  • Click here for information on what the levy fund provides beekeepers. 

  • The rate of levy is $40 ($46 including GST) per beekeeper and $1.95 ($2.24 including GST) per bee colony owned by each beekeeper as of 31 March. 

  • A bee colony is an active/living group of bees. Usually, but not always, containing a Queen and worker honey bees.  A bee colony includes nucleus hives as well as active/living bee hives. 

  • Beekeepers that did not have a live honey bee colony on 31 March but still have a registered apiary (i.e. they are a registered beekeeper) are required to pay the $40 base levy. Apiary sites must be registered if they have one or more beehives located on them irrespective of whether those beehives are alive or dead. 

    Beekeepers without any live beehives who wish to cancel their beekeeper registration must remove any deadout beehives from the apiary site and place them into storage before deregistering the apiary. If you wish to cancel your beekeeper registration deregister via HiveHub or click here to complete a deregistration form.

    Your levies will be cleared once this cancellation form has been processed. 

  • Login to HiveHub, 

    1. Check that the number of honey bee colonies recorded on each apiary is correct and make corrections as required, then 

    2. submit your Colony Return via HiveHub, then 

    3. send an email to levies@nzbb.org.nz advising that you require a revised invoice as per the updated Colony Return submitted. An amended invoice will be sent to you once the Colony Return has been processed. 

  • A Colony Return is a statutory return required for levy collection purposes. 

    All beekeepers are legally required to declare the number of bee colonies they own on 31 March each year.