It is one of the Palm Islands group, 1,189 km (739 mi) northwest of Brisbane, as is Pelorus Island 800 metres (2,600 ft) to the north; both are in the Shire of Hinchinbrook.

In 2002 the island was bought by Jim Wilson who had developed the Freycinet Lodge in Tasmania, and bought off him in 2011 by Chris Morris, the Computershare mogul.

[1] A research station, operated by James Cook University, is located on the island.

The group published a research paper on findings from citizen scientists on a rare, large coral bommie at Orpheus Island in 2021[3] A citizen science database using iNaturalist has recorded over 700 observations of 334 species with the most observed species the Australian Green Tree Frog[4] There is also a luxury resort on the island, the Orpheus Island Great Barrier Reef Luxury Resort.

[5] Great Palm Island is the closest location with government facilities.