[3][4][5] The butterfly orchid was first formally described in 1834 by John Lindley who gave it the name Gunnia australis and published the description in Edwards's Botanical Register.

[6][7] In 1863, Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach changed the name to Sarcochilus australis.

[8] The specific epithet (australis) is a Latin word meaning "southern".

[9] Sarcochilus australis grows on trees in rainforest and other humid places, sometimes close to the ground.

It is found between the Hunter River in New South Wales through south-eastern Victoria to northern Tasmania.