Stretching from the southern parts of the Illawarra in the north to the South East Corner in the south, it is an endangered ecological community that lies in a rain shadow area.

but may also be found on locally precipitous sites and on acid volcanic, alluvial and fine-grained sedimentary substrates.

The remaining environment of the community is gravely fragmented, with more than 95% of surviving patches estimated to be less than 10 ha.

The understorey frequently features small trees like, Acacia mearnsii, Acacia implexa, Exocarpos cupressiformis and a shrub layer that features, Bursaria spinosa, Cassinia spp.

The groundcover features, Themeda australis, Microlaena stipoides and Eragrostis leptostachya, in addition to forbs such as Dichondra repens, Desmodium varians, Hydrocotyle laxiflora, Hypericum gramineum, Glycine clandestina and Cheilanthes sieberi.