Anyone bringing bees or bee products into Victoria from interstate must now apply for a permit.
Authorities have introduced the statewide system in a bid to stop a potential outbreak of varroa mites, which can cause devastating injuries to bees.
An outbreak was first detected in Newcastle in June and has since spread to dozens of properties in NSW.
The permit system previously only applied to the Sunraysia region but has now been widened across the state.
It applies to anyone bringing in the insects, hives, bee keeping equipment, pollen and honeycomb.
No permits will be granted to people in NSW.
The pest can infiltrate bees’ larvae, spread viruses, cause injuries to the animals and lead to them leaving hives.
Victoria’s Chief Plant Health Officer Dr Rosa Crnov said the expanded permit system means it would be easier to track cases in the event of an outbreak.
“This new permit system, combined with beekeeper registration requirements and the BeeMax system which allows beekeepers to register their bee movements, will provide confidence in delivering safe pollination for industries across the state,” she said in a statement.
President of the Victorian Apiarists’ Association John van Weeghel welcomed the changes.
“We’re quite happy about that. It is something that has been promised for probably some weeks,” he told AAP.
“It’s fairly well contained, we’re very optimistic that we will eradicate the mite. It’s starting to look really good.”
He called on anyone who finds traces of something that could be the varroa mite to notify the department.
“Don’t try to clean it up yourself,” said Mr van Weeghel.
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