In July 2002 the label was founded and co-owned by John Butler; The Waifs' members Josh Cunningham, Donna Simpson, and her sister Vikki Thorn; and the artists' common manager, Philip Stevens.

Jarrah Records has won numerous Western Australian Music Industry Awards and was the first artist-owned independent label to debut at No.1 on the ARIA album charts.

[1][2] The label was established in Fremantle in July 2002, initially, to release John Butler Trio and The Waif's material into the United States market.

"In July 2002 Jarrah Records re-issued The Waifs third studio album, Sink or Swim, into the US – it had appeared in Australia in June 2000.

[12] The group's first new work for Jarrah was a five-track extended play, London Still, released in July 2002, which reached the top 50 on the ARIA Singles Chart.

[16] According to The Age's Patrick Donovan by March 2004 John Butler Trio and The Waifs had "proved that mainstream airplay and huge sales are not reliant on the backing of a big record company".

[17] In March 2004 John Butler Trio released their third studio album, Sunrise Over Sea, on the Jarrah label.