It is an omnivore and one of the most common indigenous species of rat on the continent, found in many heathland areas of Victoria and New South Wales.

The collection of the type specimen was made when HMS Beagle was anchored at King George Sound, a port at the southwest of the continent.

[2] The type locality has been determined as Little Grove, Western Australia, six kilometres (3.7 mi) south of Mount Melville in the city of Albany.

[3] While there are not many characteristics that readily distinguish the bush rat from other Rattus species, it is characterised by having small tympanic bullae and a straight incisive foramen.

[5] The tail is a pink shade of brown, almost free of hair, with scales that overlap and give an obvious ringed appearance.

[5] Their prominent eyes are large, and this distinguishes them from the narrower snouted Cape York species Rattus leucopus where their range overlaps.

Evidence suggests that the incidence of fire can increase predation of bush rats due to the removal of undergrowth in which they are usually able to hide.

In the summer it consumes primarily fruit, arthropods, and seeds, but in the winter its main source of food is from a particular cyperaceous species.

[citation needed] The species is primarily herbivorous, consuming fungi and plant tissue, but includes arthropods in their diet.