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HomeCoursesAgricultureCertificate III in Beekeeping

Certificate III in Beekeeping

This qualification trains you to keep honey bees and run hives as a business or a pollination service.

Illustration of a person working as beekeeper
  • Course code: AHC31824

Where you can study this course

Where

  • Melbourne Polytechnic

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    Campuses
    13 campuses
    Duration
    Not yet checked
    Study mode
    Not yet checked
    Full fee
    Not yet checked

    What students say

    A number of students find the organisation and admin frustrating, and opinions are mixed on the trainers and teaching, while some rate the facilities and campus highly.

  • TasTAFE

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    Campuses
    12 campuses
    Duration
    Not yet checked
    Study mode
    Not yet checked
    Full fee
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  • South Regional TAFE

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    Campuses
    South Regional TAFE - Narrogin
    Duration
    Not yet checked
    Study mode
    Not yet checked
    Full fee
    Not yet checked

Last reviewed 17 September 2026.

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Is this course right for you?

Entry requirements

There are no entry requirements for this qualification.

  • Providers can set their own conditions, such as a minimum age or a current job in the industry, and practical training may need a workplace placement. Check each provider above.

Entry recommendations

To be prepared for this course, it helps to have:

  • an interest in working with honey bees
  • a careful approach to handling live colonies
  • good hand skills for hive work
  • a willingness to follow safety and biosecurity rules

What will you learn?

You learn to open and reassemble a hive safely, use a smoker, handle brood and swarms, and re-queen a colony when it needs it. It also covers the practical side of the job: choosing a site, moving hives by road, extracting honey, and spotting and treating pests and disease. Workplace safety and industry quality assurance are built in, and you'll need to follow the state or territory rules on hive ownership and biosecurity.

  • Opening and inspecting hives
  • Handling brood and swarms
  • Re-queening colonies
  • Extracting honey
  • Moving hives to new sites
  • Managing pests and disease

Units of competency (13 core, 5 elective)

The qualification is made up of 18 units. Everyone completes the 13 core units below, and the remaining 5 are electives chosen from the list on training.gov.au, so they vary by provider. Select a unit to see what it covers.

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Career pathways

Roles this qualification is a recognised route into, and what else you need.

Data from training.gov.au and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (CC BY 4.0).