The yellowspotted sawtail was first formally described in 1887 by the Australian zoologist James Douglas Ogilby with its biology given as Port Jackson in Queensland.

The overall colour is bluish grey marked with many small yellow spots on the head and upper body.

[5] The yellowspotted sawtail has a maximum published total length of 45 cm (18 in).

[6] The yellowspotted sawtail is endemic to the southwestern Pacific Ocean where it occurs along the eastern Coral Sea coast of Australia from Lord Howe Island and New South Wales north as far as the Capricorn Islands and Swains Reef in the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland.

[1] This is a species of rocky shores as an adult but juveniles prefer sheltered bays and estuaries.