Governance & Assurance
Governance should be demonstrated through facts, controls and accountable decisions.
Nomia Bee Australia Foundation Limited is an Australian public company limited by guarantee and an ACNC-registered charity. Its governance framework is being strengthened alongside the scientific and operational program.
Charity registration does not validate the scientific proposition. The proposition must stand or fall on evidence.
Current legal status
| Legal name | NOMIA BEE AUSTRALIA FOUNDATION LIMITED |
| ABN | 18 697 762 262 |
| Entity type | Australian public company limited by guarantee |
| Charity registration | Registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission |
| Main business location | Coleambally, New South Wales |
| DGR status | Not currently endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient |
| Tax deductibility | Donations are not currently tax deductible |
What the framework must protect
Mission integrity
Funds, assets and decisions remain directed to charitable purposes and public-benefit evidence.
Independent oversight
Major financial, governance and scientific decisions should not depend on one individual alone.
Conflict management
Relevant interests should be declared, recorded and managed, with conflicted decision-makers excluded where appropriate.
Restricted funding
Grants and restricted donations should be traceable against approved purposes, budgets and reporting obligations.
Scientific independence
Findings must not be altered, suppressed or selectively presented because they are inconvenient to fundraising.
Decision records
Material Board, risk, procurement and stage-gate decisions should be appropriately documented.
Long-term research tenure should support continuity without obscuring governance.
Nomia's approximately 104-hectare Coleambally research site is intended to be held under a long-term lease structure designed to support stable research tenure and major infrastructure planning.
Material site arrangements should be documented, appropriately approved and assessed in the interests of the charity.
Public website material does not need to publish private lease economics to demonstrate responsible governance.
Transparency belongs in the decision process.
Where an arrangement involves a founder, director, family member, associated entity or other related party, relevant interests should be disclosed and the decision should be handled through a non-conflicted approval process.
Appropriate market evidence, quotations or other reasonable support should be retained where relevant and proportionate.
Large budgets require stronger controls, not weaker scrutiny.
Budget approval
Major expenditure should be authorised against an approved program, budget and delegated authority.
Competitive procurement
Material purchases should use appropriate quotations, tendering or market testing, with exceptions documented.
Buy / hire / contract
Ownership is not assumed. Utilisation, whole-life cost and alternatives should be compared.
Contingency control
Project contingency is provision for uncertainty, not an automatic spending allocation.
Funding restrictions
Donor and grant restrictions should be recorded and expenditure traceable.
Financial reporting
Reporting should deepen as funding, staffing, assets and complexity increase.
Governance must protect the evidence from the organisation.
Methods, controls, baselines, exclusions and decision criteria should be documented before corresponding results are known. Material interpretations should be open to qualified challenge.
No fundraising override
Communications should distinguish demonstrated findings from hypotheses and objectives. Failed establishment, weak crop benefit or poor economics must remain visible results.
Strengthen independent capability before scale.
Nomia welcomes people who can strengthen charity governance, science, finance, risk, legal and public-sector capability. Expressions of interest do not imply appointment.
Government Evidence: The Damage Is Already Being Felt
The consequences of Varroa destructor in Australia are no longer merely projections. Australian government agencies are documenting impacts on beekeepers, hive numbers, pollination services and the effectiveness of available Varroa treatments.
Read the Australian Government and state government evidence directly.
Individual reports of hive loss, treatment resistance, increased pollination cost or crop impact should not automatically be treated as national averages. Nomia distinguishes documented current impacts from credible future risks and relies wherever possible on primary government and scientific evidence.