It is constructed of reinforced concrete and has a wide surrounding verandah at ground and first floor levels with a dominating, two-storeyed entrance portico and gabled roofs.

The building, which is set well back from Lake Street, has a lawned area in front with mature trees each side of a single-width concrete entrance path.

St Joseph's Convent is significant for its close association with the development of Catholicism and Catholic education in Cairns and district since the early 1900s.

It is also an excellent example of the work of local architect Edward Gregory Waters, and illustrates the establishment of a tradition of building in reinforced concrete, favoured in cyclone-prone Cairns in the early 1900s.

It remains a fine example of a convent building designed to function in a tropical climate, and is of interest for its re-enforced concrete construction, considered more cyclone-proof than masonry.

It remains illustrative of the work of the Augustinian fathers in the Vicariate Apostolic of Cooktown (later the Diocese of Cairns), especially Bishop Murray who encouraged the erection of Catholic churches, schools, convents and presbyteries throughout far North Queensland in the early years of the 20th century.