In Australia, sulphur-crested cockatoos can be found widely in the north and east, ranging from the Kimberley to as far south as Tasmania, but avoiding arid inland areas with few trees.

They are numerous in suburban habitats in cities such as Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

C. g. fitzroyi is similar to the nominate race but lacks the yellow on the ear tufts and has slightly blueish skin around the eye.

Sulphur-crested cockatoos' distinctive raucous calls can be very loud, which is a result of an adaptation in order to travel through the forest environments in which they live, including tropical and subtropical rainforests.

This is so well known that it has even entered Australian slang: a person keeping guard for sudden police raids on illegal gambling gatherings is referred to as a cockatoo or cocky for short.

[18] In some parts of Australia, sulphur-crested cockatoos can be very numerous, and may cause damage to cereal and fruit crops and newly planted tree seedlings, as well as soft timber on houses and outdoor furniture.

Many have assumed that the human feeding of sulphur-crested cockatoos has caused many issues for the birds, including pest behaviour and disease in many localities.

Numerous places around Australia like the Surf Coast in Victoria[20] and the Blue Mountains in New South Wales[21][22] have had residents complain and rules be constructed to forbid locals and visitors in towns and national parks from hand-feeding cockatoos.

Sulphur-crested cockatoos may no longer be imported into the United States as a result of the Wild Bird Conservation Act (WBCA).

[23] However, they have been bred in captivity, with Eleonora and Triton cockatoos the most common subspecies seen in aviculture in the USA and Europe.

[25] Cocky Bennett of Tom Ugly's Point in Sydney was a celebrated sulphur-crested cockatoo who reached an age of 100 years or more.

[13] Their longevity can cause a problem of being a beloved pet and bonding to an adult who then, as they age together, dies while the bird is in their prime but has lost their life partner.

RSPCA in Canberra regularly form large flocks of these birds which are then rehabilitated to the wild as a family unit [citation needed].