It is possibly mutually intelligible with Panyjima and Martuthunira, but the three are considered distinct languages.

Dench (1995) believed there was insufficient data to enable it to be confidently classified, but Bowern & Koch (2004) include it without proviso.

The "Ngarla" on the Ashburton River is a dialect of a different, though possibly related, language, Yinhawangka.

The project aims to "identify and document critically-endangered languages — those languages for which little or no documentation exists, where no recordings have previously been made, but where there are living speakers".

[8] Research has been undertaken on the language at the Irra Wangga Language Centre, who have produced resources in Ngarla, including Ngarla Numbers and Jamie’s Bush Tucker Trip.