[3] The species is found in the sandstone plateaus and escarpments and the plunge pools of Arnhem Land of the Northern Territory.

Efforts to breed this species in captivity had been largely unsuccessful, until National Aquarium Herpetologist Matthew Benedict lead a successful breeding project in 2021.

[3] The species occurs in proximity to Chelodina rugosa, to which it is closely related.

However, they do come together in limited locations such as plunge pools at the base of the escarpments.

They are differentiated from the subgenus Chelodina, which have more complete plastrons, smaller necks and are not strike and gape predators.