Beaufort Street has existed since at least 1848. The road was macadamised in 1870. The road was initially built to service the Mount Lawley area in the early 19th century.
In 1907, work began on reconstructing the Beaufort Street Bridge, which connected the road to Wellington Street over the railway line.
In 1929, the Town Planning Commission viewed Beaufort Street to be an important arterial road in the future, and agreed with the Bayswater Road Board's plans to extend the road through to Collier Road by resuming land.
Between Wellington Street and Brisbane Street, it was a one-way road, as the continuation of Barrack Street, with southbound traffic directed along Brisbane Street onto William Street. From 7 April 2013, two-way traffic was reintroduced along Beaufort Street. The project also introduced part-time bus lanes, operational (in one direction) during peak times, and available for parking at other times.
Beaufort Street was widened between Central Avenue, Inglewood and Queens Crescent, Mount Lawley. The project was expected to take ten months to complete, from July 2013 to April 2014. Beaufort Street's intersection with Central Avenue was also upgraded, with additional turning lanes and modified traffic light signals. The works enabled the road lanes to be reconfigured as one bus priority lane plus one traffic lane in each direction. A new central median island prevents right turns at most locations along the road.