Australian Beekeeper Award 2022

The inaugural Australian Beekeeper Award aims to recognise beekeepers who are making a positive difference to the Australian honey bee industry. This award program is sponsored by the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC).

Applicants will have a clear and compelling vision for the honey bee industry’s future growth and can demonstrate their ability to raise awareness of the importance of honey bees in pollination services, and global food security.

Who can apply?

Applicants:

• must be an Australian registered beekeeper

• must be over 18 years old at the time of application

• must be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident

• must agree to the terms and conditions of entry.

Judging criteria

The state and national award winners will be determined by an independent judging panel using the following criteria.

Applicants must demonstrate:

1. A clear and compelling vision for the future growth of the Australian honey bee industry.

2. Innovative ways of raising awareness of the important role that bees play in pollination and global food security.

3. Commitment to effect positive change through leadership and engagement of Australian honey bee stakeholders.

How to apply

Beekeepers can apply directly to their state industry peak body (listed below) or can be nominated by another person. Applications should be sent to the state industry body in the state in which the beekeeper lives. The nominee does not need to be a member of the state industry peak body.

The application form is available here. All nominations must be returned to the relevant state body for judging.

Option 1:

Apply directly to your state industry peak body:

• NSW Apiarists’ Association – Secretary, Robyn Lewis,
  info@nswaa.com.au

• Queensland Beekeepers’ Association – Secretary, Jo Martin,
  statesecretary@qbabees.org.au

• Victorian Apiarists’ Association – Secretary, Kerrin Williams,
  vaa@vicbeekeepers.com.au

• South Australian Apiarists’ Association – Secretary, Miranda Tenney,
  secretary@saaa.org.au

• Bee Industry Council of Western Australia – BICWA Secretary, Christine Spycher,
  info@bicwa.com.au

• Tasmanian Beekeepers’ Association – Secretary, Maxine Ewington,
  secretary@tasmanianbeekeepers.org.au

Option 2:

Applicants can be nominated by another person who completes the application and submits it directly to the state industry peak body in which state the applicant resides.

Winners

The winners from each state will be announced in early May and will become the Australian Beekeeper Award finalists.

State finalists will participate in a two-day Australian Beekeeper Award professional development program on 19 and 20 May. Over these two days, participants will learn how to tell their provenance story, and will receive professional training in interview skills and communicating important messages in the media.

While participating in the two-day program participants will receive support to create a three-minute video to showcase their business and their initiative to raise community awareness of the importance of honey bees. This video will form the basis for the judging for the national award winner.

The national award winner and runner up will be announced at the 4th Australian Bee Congress being held in Sydney from 8 -11 June 2022.