or quarantine, infection pathway control, good hygiene, biosecurity.... many terms for the same thing of not spreading problems

Yes you must have removable frames under Australias biosecurity regulations. You must be able to remove and inspect frames for diseases such as American foul brood and although we don't have them (yet) Varroa mite. Using a hive that does not have removable frames endangers wild hives and beekeepers in the area so its not just a problem for you only.

@@keithpadbury9818 thanks for the information. I've since read the code of practice and find it inflexible in a few areas. I understand the internet but you can inspect a hive without removing frames and that one principle restricts Australian beekeepers to one of many hive designs and one that is essentially 170 years old. I can achieve the requirement without removing frames.

@Threadie I find that as a new beekeeper the beekeeping fraternity is a big put off. I feel like an illegal immigrant. What's that all about? I done even want to start with government agencies. I think I'll just go dark! I can't handle the politics.

Looks like a cutout with comb rubber-banded in the frames, the natural comb is not good for extracting it breaks apart, the frames are lifted above the excluder with the bees shaken so the queen is below the excluder, once the brood emerges the natural frames are removed and used for swarm boxes or melted for the wax.