It is a tall, woody climber with pinnate leaves, the leaflets oblong, elliptic or egg-shaped, and panicles of purple, pea-like flowers.

Austrocallerya australis is a tall, woody climber with stems up to 20 cm (7.9 in) in diameter with rough, grey or cream-coloured bark.

[2][3] This species was first formally described in 1833 by Stephan Endlicher who gave it the name Pterocarpus australis in his book Prodromus Florae Norfolkicae from specimens collected on Norfolk Island by Ferdinand Bauer.

[4][5] In 1994, Anne M. Schot moved the species to Callerya as Callerya australis in the journal Blumea[6] and in 2019, James A. Compton and Brian David Schrire moved it to their new genus Austrocallerya as Austrocallerya australis, based on the plant's morphology, and nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences.

[3] According to Plants of the World Online, it also occurs in New Guinea, New Caledonia, and the Cook, Solomon, Tuamotus and Tubuai Islands.