The Agriculture Protection Board (APB) commenced operations on 1 March 1951. The first chairman of the Board was Mr. A. R. Tomlinson. The Noxious Weed Branch of the Department of Agriculture was amalgamated with the APB in 1969, giving the Board much broader agricultural protection responsibilities. Within the APB, two seperate control branches for weeds and vermin were formed. The Agriculture and Related Resources Protection Act 1976 enabled the regulation of both Declared Plants and Animals, giving more operational efficiency. The amalgamation of the weed and vermin control branches and their staff meant that each District Agricultural Protection Officer had responsibility of both weed and vermin control in their district. This Act also abolished all Vermin Districts constituted under the Vermin Act 1918-1973 and vested all the latter's property and powers with the APB. As a result, many of the records held predate the 1951 start date.

A review of the Primary Industries Portfolio in 1996, broadened the role of the APB to oversea the full range of protection programs in the State. Together with its responsibilities to control Declared Plants and Animals, the Board is now concerned with Quarantine, and Animal and Plant Health Protection Programs in Western Australia.

Practically all of the States Protection Services are delivered by the Department of Agriculture Western Australia.