It is endemic to southeastern Australia, east of the Great Dividing Range.

It ranges from northeastern Victoria to the mid-coast of New South Wales, from Mallacoota north to Taree.

This species is the "bleating tree frog" that occurs around Sydney, and is well known for its very loud call.

Rowley et al (2021) distinguished three distinct clades in what was formerly considered a single species (Litoria dentata), based on genetic divergence, slight morphological differences, and notable differences in vocalizations; the latter were collected via the FrogID Australia citizen science project.

The screaming tree frog has the longest call out of the three species, lacks a white line along its side, and the male turns yellow during breeding season.