The lower lip has a distinctive white stripe (giving this species its name), which continues to the shoulder.

The white stripes on the trailing edges of the lower leg may turn pink in the breeding male.

The white-lipped tree frog is found along the coastal areas of Cape York Peninsula and the wet tropics of north-eastern Queensland, Australia.

It has a loud, barking call, but when distressed, it makes a cat-like "mew" sound or may discharge urine.

Males call during spring and summer after rain from vegetation around the breeding site, normally a still body of water.