[2][3] The small lawyer orchid was first formally described in 1939 by William Henry Nicholls who gave it the name Sarcochilus olivaceus var.

borealis and published the description in The North Queensland Naturalist.

[4] In 1989 David Jones and Mark Clements raised the variety to species status.

[5] The specific epithet (borealis) is a Latin word meaning "northern".

[6] The small lawyer orchid grows on trees and vines in rainforest at altitudes of 800–1,000 m (3,000–3,000 ft) in the Mount Lewis National Park and on the Atherton Tableland.