Advice has been received from the Department of Agriculture that the queen bee levy will be set at zero from August 1, 2104.
Those queen bee breeders who are currently paying the levy will be advised by the levies collection unit about the process for finalising the returns currently outstanding.
This means there will now be more money available for research by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation because the queen bee levy was costing more to collect than it actually collected.
By having the levy set at zero, it can be re-introduced in the future, after consultation with likely levy payers.
Source: Australian Honey Bee Council
