[2] Eight subspecies have been described:[3] Lewin's rails are not listed as threatened on the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

[6] A subspecies of Lewin's rail, listed as Lewin's water rail (Rallus pectoralis clelandi), is on Western Australia's Wildlife Conservation (Specially Protected Fauna) Notice 2008 Schedule 2 — Fauna presumed to be extinct, under the WA Wildlife Conservation Act 1950.

[7] The Brisbane Airport's construction of a second runway initially included 38 hectares of wetlands to be set aside for habitat.

Lewin's rails breed over the summer period, laying three to five eggs in their saucer-shaped ground nests, which they build from dry vegetation such as reeds and grasses.

[8] Loss of habitat due to changes in water body structure, disruption of nests, and predation by introduced species.