John White, the surgeon-general of New South Wales, described this species as the variegated lizard (Lacerta varia) in 1790.

[5] French naturalist François Marie Daudin gave it the name Tupinambis variegatus in 1802, and noted two forms.

[6] German naturalist Blasius Merrem established the genus Varanus in 1820,[7] with V. varius as the first mentioned member set as its type species by John Edward Gray in 1827.

[9] This turned out to be a banded colour phase of the lace monitor that coexists with normal-coloured individuals, and is either autosomal dominant or codominant genetically.

[11] It was known as wirriga to the Eora and Darug inhabitants of the Sydney basin,[12] and gugaa to the Wiradjuri people of southern New South Wales.

[21] The other type, known as Bell's form, is typically found in west of the Great Dividing Range from Woodgate, Eidsvold, and Mitchell in Queensland to Bourke, Macksville and Port Macquarie in New South Wales.

[24] A field study in Burragorang, New South Wales found that males over 5 kg ranged over home territories of 65.5 ± 10.0 hectares.

When such nests are in short supply, females often fight over them or lay the eggs in burrows and perhaps hollow logs.

The lizards near rubbish tips foraged predominantly on food waste there, with a greater caloric intake.

Despite the apparent increase in population and size, the long-term effect of human impact on the species is unclear.

Fieldwork published in 2016 found that larger individuals were less cautious in what they ate, but all lace monitors quickly learned to avoid toads after they had been poisoned.

[30] Lace monitors are close to the top of the food chain, though dingo packs, wedge-tailed eagles, and wild boars occasionally prey upon them.

Previously, bites inflicted by monitors were thought to be prone to infection because of bacteria in their mouths, but the researchers showed that the immediate effects were more likely caused by envenomation.

Bites on the hand by lace monitors have been observed to cause swelling within minutes, localised disruption of blood clotting, and shooting pain up to the elbow, which can often last for several hours.

[35] In vitro testing showed lace monitor mouth secretion impacts on platelet aggregation, drops blood pressure and relaxes smooth muscle; the last effect mediated by an agent with the same activity as brain natriuretic peptide.

[35] Washington State University biologist Kenneth V. Kardong and toxicologists Scott A. Weinstein and Tamara L. Smith, have cautioned that labelling these species as venomous oversimplifies the diversity of oral secretions in reptiles, and overestimates the medical risk of bite victims.