Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development

What Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development does

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is the Western Australian state government department, established in 2017 through amalgamation of the former Department of Agriculture and Food WA with fisheries and regional development functions, responsible for regulating and advancing agriculture, food industries, fisheries, biosecurity, and regional development across Western Australia. It serves a broad constituency of WA primary producers and regional communities, including recreational and commercial fishers, livestock and grain/crop farmers, aquaculture operators, beekeepers, Aboriginal businesses, and regional communities, while overseeing nine Regional Development Commissions covering Gascoyne, Goldfields-Esperance, Great Southern, Kimberley, Mid West, Peel, Pilbara, South West, and Wheatbelt regions. The department operates through a 15+ office regional network, statutory authority under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act and Animal Welfare Act, Quarantine WA border checkpoints, and DPIRD Diagnostics and Laboratory Services for animal/plant pathology and seed certification. Its technology platform centres on an Online Tools Portal offering approximately 30 digital products — including crop disease management calculators (BlacklegCM, NetBlotchCM, SeptoriaTriticiWM), the MyPestGuide collaborative pest reporting suite, FishCatchWA on the ServiceWA app, Fish Eye secure commercial catch reporting, Pastures from Space, livestock calculators, weather station and radar network, and the Western Australian Organism List database — supported by a free public API gateway. DPIRD is funded through state government appropriations; the small licensing fees collected (e.g., $40 recreational fishing from boat licence, $50 net fishing) and grants programs are immaterial relative to its budget, and most advisory, R&D, biosecurity, and digital tool services are provided free to the public.

Name

Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development

Legal name

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Website

https://www.dpird.wa.gov.au/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

DPIRD is the Western Australian state government department regulating agriculture, fisheries, biosecurity, and regional development, serving farmers, fishers, aquaculture operators, beekeepers, and regional communities across WA through licensing, R&D, digital tools, and nine regional development commissions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Sector Agricultural Services

NAICS

Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (92615), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting (11), Finfish Farming and Fish Hatcheries (112511), Aquaculture (1125)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Fishing, Hunting And Trapping (900), Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)

akta.pro primary industry

Animal Health Policy, Standards & International Coordination (e.g., WOAH/FAO) (HLAMAJAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sanitary & Phytosanitary (SPS) & Food Safety Regulatory Cooperation (BPADANAF), Animal Feed Safety & Feed Additives Regulation (HLAJAEAK)

Keywords

• Agricultural biosecurity
• Fisheries management
• Regional development
• Quarantine services
• Agricultural research

Headquarters

HQ city

East Perth

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices16 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DPIRD is the Western Australian state government department that regulates and advances agricultural and food industries, fisheries, and regional development. It provides licensing and permitting (recreational and commercial fishing, aquaculture, beekeeping, animal imports), biosecurity protection and quarantine border controls, scientific research and innovation, regional economic development programs, and an extensive suite of digital tools for pest reporting, crop disease management, weather monitoring, and fishing catch logging.

Product overview

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is a government regulatory and service agency for Western Australia's agriculture, food, fisheries, and regional development sectors. DPIRD offers a platform of citizen-facing digital services and tools rather than a commercial product. The portfolio includes an Online Tools Portal featuring crop disease management tools (BlacklegCM, NetBlotchBM, SclerotiniaCM/LM, SeptoriaTriticiWM, StripeRustWM, YellowSpotWM), pest reporting platforms (MyPestGuide suite, PestFacts WA), fishing tools (FishCatchWA, Fish Eye, Marine Fauna Sightings), livestock management calculators, weather data services, the Western Australian Organism List database, and an Alert Centre for biosecurity incidents. DPIRD also provides licensing and regulatory services for recreational and commercial fishing, aquaculture, beekeeping, and animal/plant imports through Quarantine WA checkpoints. The department supports the sector through grants programs, research facilities, and the DPIRD Diagnostics and Laboratory Services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Recreational Fishing Licences Licensing service for recreational fishing from boat, net fishing, freshwater angling, rock lobster, abalone, and marron in Western Australia, available online and in-person. Concession rates (half fee) apply for seniors, pensioners, under 16, and disabled individuals.
• Commercial Fishing Licence Licensing for commercial fishing operations including charter boat fishing in Western Australian waters, with supporting vessel monitoring system and licence forms.
• Aquaculture Licence Licensing for aquaculture operations including application for licence and lease exemption in Western Australia, supporting marine and freshwater aquaculture including finfish, shellfish, and aquatic plants.
• Beekeeper Registration Mandatory registration for all persons keeping honey bees in Western Australia under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management legislation, with bee movement permits support.
• Quarantine WA Border Checkpoints Border checkpoint services for controlling movement of goods that could carry pests and diseases into Western Australia, supporting Quarantine WA Imports (08 9334 1800).
• DPIRD Diagnostics and Laboratory Services Expertise in animal pathology, plant pathology, seed testing and certification services to facilitate domestic and international trade and protect biosecurity in Western Australia.
• Importing Animals to WA Import permit and keeping permit services for bringing animals into Western Australia, with regulatory compliance for biosecurity.
• MyPestGuide Suite Collaborative network of apps for identifying, reporting, mapping and learning about pests and organisms affecting Western Australia's environment and economy, aimed at producers, consultants, and community members.
• FishCatchWA Digital tool on the ServiceWA app for recreational fishers to log their catch of demersal scalefish in the West Coast bioregion, used for compliance and sustainable fisheries management.
• Fish Eye Secure online transaction system for West Coast rock lobster, abalone and marine aquarium fisheries for submitting trip returns and catch data.
• Weather Stations and Radar Network Extensive weather station network across WA providing local data including temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind speed and direction for producers and industry, with API gateway access.
• Western Australian Organism List Searchable legal status of organisms declared as permitted or declared pests under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act.
• Western Australian Import Requirements Search Check whether commodities are permitted for import into WA and have import requirements, supporting Quarantine WA compliance.
• PestFacts WA Interactive reporting service providing risk alerts and current information on pests and diseases threatening crops and pastures in Western Australia.
• Alert Centre Current incidents and alerts for biosecurity threats including H5 bird flu, polyphagous shot-hole borer, Queensland fruit fly, and other pest/disease alerts.
• WA Food and Beverage Professional Service Provider Directory Searchable directory for food and beverage producers to shortlist professional service providers in Western Australia.
• Marine Fauna Sightings App for fishers, citizen scientists and water users to submit sightings of marine fauna off the WA coast, supporting fisheries research and conservation.
• Pastures from Space Provides estimates of Pasture Growth Rate and Feed on Offer on a weekly basis across the South West Agricultural region for livestock farmers.
• Livestock Calculators Suite Collection of tools including annual feed budget for sheep, deferred grazing, feed cost, lambing planner, sheep condition scoring, sheep flock composition, pregnancy scanning benchmarks, strip grazing, and supplementary feeding calculators for livestock farmers.
• DPIRD API Gateway Free Application Programming Interface (API) gateway service for producers and industry to access current data related to weather and other conditions that impact on agricultural farming.
• Crop Disease Management Tools Suite of crop disease management decision-support tools (BlacklegCM, NetBlotchBM, SclerotiniaCM, SclerotiniaLM, SeptoriaTriticiWM, StripeRustWM, YellowSpotWM) that assist growers with foliar fungicide application decisions and likely economic returns for managing diseases in canola, barley, lupins, and wheat.
• MyPaddock Visualises the impact of about 40 production constraints on wheat crop yield in Western Australia, supporting agronomic decision-making.
• MyEconomic Tool Assesses economic risk and financial impact of various treatment options in broadacre grains crops for grain farmers.
• FlowerPower Predicts cereal flowering dates (or cutting dates for oats) based on user location for crop management planning.
• WA Crop Sequence Calculator Compares crop sequence options based on trial results and historic data from Western Australia, supporting crop rotation planning.

Quantifiable outcome

• 17 confirmed or presumed positive H5 bird flu detections in wild migratory seabirds managed with coordinated response
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles8 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Grower Group AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 July 2026Industry delivery partner for the Farm Business Resilience Program, jointly funded by the Future Drought Fund and DPIRD. Supports WA agricultural producers in preparing for drought and climate variability through the program.
• Aquaculture Council of Western AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 July 2026Industry delivery partner for the Farm Business Resilience Program, helping aquaculture operations like Aqua Farms Australia access climate risk assessments and planning resources.
• Goldfields-Esperance Development CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2026Regional development partner working with DPIRD to deliver the Aboriginal Business Leadership Initiative, a Cook Labor Government program building Aboriginal leadership capability and fostering sustainable business growth.
• Kaala BarnacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2026Aboriginal-owned consultancy that delivers the Aboriginal Business Leadership Initiative in partnership with DPIRD and Goldfields-Esperance Development Commission. Since 2017, the initiative has supported 91 participants.
• SeedPuritycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2026Lead commercial research provider for five-year native fly pollination project. DPIRD collaborates with SeedPurity and University of New England on research to develop large-scale rearing and deployment methods for native fly species as commercial pollinators.
• University of New EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2026Research collaborator on native fly pollination project for Australian horticulture, working with DPIRD and SeedPurity to help future-proof horticulture against declining honey bee populations.
• CSIROcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 March 2025CSIRO delivers the Innovate to Grow: Agrifood program for Western Australian SMEs with support from DPIRD. The free 8-week online course helps businesses identify commercial R&D opportunities and connect with research organisations.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• NSW Department of Primary Industries: NSW's counterpart state government department responsible for agriculture, fisheries, biosecurity, and regional development. Most direct functional peer given shared portfolio scope across primary industries regulation, research, and regional development.
• Queensland Department of Primary Industries: Queensland's primary industries department with similar regulatory, research, and biosecurity functions across agriculture, fisheries, and forestry. Comparable mandate size and structure.
• Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action: Victoria's lead agency for agriculture, fisheries, and biosecurity policy. Comparable in regulating primary industries, fisheries management, and biosecurity response oversight.
• Department of Primary Industries and Regions (South Australia): South Australia's state government department covering agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, and regional development. Closely aligned mandate as a similarly-sized state-based primary industries agency.
• Northern Territory Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade: NT's state/territory-level agency covering primary industries, fisheries, and regional development. Operates in a smaller jurisdiction but with comparable functions.

Broad incumbents

• Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Australian Government): Federal Australian government department with broader national scope over agriculture, fisheries, and forestry policy. Sets national frameworks that DPIRD operates within for biosecurity and trade.
• CSIRO: Australia's national science agency with significant primary industries research portfolio. Active partner with DPIRD on programs like Innovate to Grow: Agrifood, and operates across similar agricultural and biosecurity research domains.

Regional players

• Ministry for Primary Industries (New Zealand): New Zealand's national primary industries ministry covering agriculture, fisheries, biosecurity, and food safety. Comparable regulatory and biosecurity functions but operates nationally across a different country.

Others

• AgriFutures Australia: Australian government-backed RDC investing in rural R&D across emerging and smaller agricultural industries. Adjacent to DPIRD's research mandate and a partner in agricultural innovation funding.
• Grains Research and Development Corporation: National R&D corporation for grains, partnering with state departments like DPIRD on grains research and extension. Affiliated peer through shared funding and research programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@dpird
• Facebookfacebook.com/DPIRDWA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dpirdwa
• Instagraminstagram.com/dpirdwa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development