The Australian Native Bee Company has been in operation since 2008. Steve Maginnity studied Agricultural Science at university and has worked as a high school agriculture and science teacher for over a decade. His interest in native bees started whilst attending a European beekeeping course.

He had intended to establish hives at the school where he was teaching. However, due to the risk of students suffering anaphylaxis from bee stings he was not permitted to bring European bees onto the site. He had heard of an alternative - stingless native social bees. His interest and passion for native bees grew from this and so to did the business he had established. They now sell hives, offer a pollination service, and provide educational talks to school and community groups up and down the East Coast.