Jim,
Yes I did mean a queen excluder, and as Kanga has said, in SE Qld the temps are always pretty mild at the worst of times (we did get down to 5C for a few nights, but still 20-22C during the days).
3 weeks ago I was able to rob 30kg of honey from my 2 productive hives (I took most fully sealed frames, probably 9 from each hive, still leaving 9 that had been partly sealed and still with lots of honey). The brood box still had ample supply of honey, and the bees really haven't stopped collecting, and are as busy now as I have seen them in 12 months (still lots of drones coming and going during the middle of the day...)
I will keep in mind (for future years) the idea of removing the queen excluder, but I would probably just move some honey frames from the supers down if they appear to be running low.
I am new and always learning and like to hear how other beeks run their hives.
Thanks
John