› Flat Chat Strata Forum › From the Front Page › Neighbour put beehives near our back door › Current Page
“Hives … should be well screened by vegetation and placed a minimum of four meters from access walkways and the front door. The hives should be positioned in a quiet area of the yard, and not directly against the neighbouring property. Bee flight paths should be above two metres when crossing property boundaries and access walkways. This can be achieved by using a barrier such as shrubs, hedges, a wall or a fence.” https://www.environment.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/901983/Code-of-Practice-for-Beekeeping-in-Residential-Areas-of-the-ACT-2016.pdf
This is for the ACT but other states most likely have similar guidelines. I suggest that it would not be reasonable for an Owners Corporation to prohibit beekeeping. However, I think it would be reasonable to insist that bees can only be kept in compliance with the Code of Practice for Beekeeping in Residential Areas. If the structure of the site is such that it is not possible to comply, then that would mean no bees.
Where I am, we allowed bees for a unit owner on the grounds that they were able to locate a hive within their courtyard, sufficiently far from doorways and where a solid fence directed the flight path sufficiently high above a footpath in compliance with the code of practice.