Beekeeping on public conservation land
If you’d like to put beehives on public conservation land, follow these application guidelines.

We will need to review the suitability of any site where you'd like to put beehives on public conservation land. This is to ensure beehives are suitable for the location and will not have a negative impact on the environment.

Pre-application advice

Applying for a concession for the first time can be a little tricky. To ensure your application goes smoothly we advise you to contact us for pre-application advice. We’ll help you to:

  • Understand the concession you will need to apply for.
  • Navigate our statutory planning documents, so you can consider whether the activity you wish to undertake is consistent with them.
  • Understand DOC’s responsibility to give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, which requires consultation with Treaty Partners on most applications. If you wish, DOC can help you contact the local iwi, hapū, and whānau to assess whether your proposed activity will have any cultural effects. Often this consultation can enhance the activity you are considering.

Standard operating conditions for beekeepers

Honeybees can impact conservation values. To manage these impacts, beekeepers operating on public conservation land must read and comply with DOC’s standard operating conditions for beekeepers (PDF, 211K).

For more information see Position statements: Policies and plans.

How to apply

Download and complete the beehive concession application form:

Email your forms along with any requested documents to permissions@doc.govt.nz.

Find out more about the process and how to prepare your application.

Permissions application process

Preparing a permission application

If your application is approved, we will send you a contract which you must sign and return before you place your beehives.

If your application is declined, we will send you a letter outlining why.

Help us process your application faster

To reduce delays in processing your application, you will need to provide the following information in your application:

  • The full name and status of the public conservation land (use DOC Maps to help you)
  • The specific locations or co-ordinates of your beehive sites (where your beehives are placed)
  • The number of beehives placed per site
  • If you intend to keep beehives on site throughout the year or for a specific time period
  • How you will transport your beehives (either by vehicle, or aircraft)

Note: If you intend to fly beehives onto the site, you will need an aircraft concession.

Timeframe

Complex applications could take a number of months to be processed.

Find out more at How long it takes to process an application

Application fees

We charge an application processing fee based on the time required to process your application and staff hourly charge-out rates. Complex applications cost more as they take longer to process.

After you apply, we will assign your application to a processing category that reflects its complexity. Each category has a minimum processing fee.

Learn more about processing categories and minimum fees

If you seek pre-application advice, we can tell you the category and minimum processing fee that will most likely apply to your application. We will confirm your minimum processing fee once your application is accepted and assigned to a processing category. If we expect your processing fee to exceed the minimum fee, we will give you a non-binding fee estimate before we start work.

We will usually invoice your fee after processing is complete. If you withdraw your application, you will be charged for any work already done.

If your application is approved, ongoing permission fees may apply.

Activity returns

If you are granted a beehive concession, you must pay annual activity fees. These fees are calculated through annual activity returns.

A pre-populated template will be emailed to you when your activity return is due. The email will include a user guide with step-by-step instructions showing you how to fill in the Excel spreadsheet.

What to do:

  1. Click on the emailed template attachment to open it.
  2. Save it to your computer.
  3. Fill in your activity return details and save again.
  4. Email it to us as soon as possible.

If you have ‘nil’ activities to report, reply to your reminder email, stating your nil activity and the reason for this. Do not forget to quote your permission number.

If you want the pre-populated template earlier, email us. Be sure to include your permission number.

Contact us

For more information or assistance with your concession contact the nearest of these DOC offices.

For more information of assistance on your activity returns, email TransactionCentre@doc.govt.nz.