As a consequence of the greatly altered habitat in the area in which it occurs near Perth, Western Australia, it exists in small fragmented populations, making the species critically endangered.

In 1954, Ludwig Glauert named these specimens Emydura inspectata, but in 1958, Ernest Williams of Harvard University showed that to be a synonym of Pseudemydura umbrina.

It has a neck equal to or longer than its shell, making the two species from south west Western Australia easily distinguishable.

The western swamp turtle has been recorded only in scattered localities on the Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia, from Perth Airport northwards to near Pearce Royal Australian Air Force Base in the Bullsbrook locality (roughly parallel with the Darling Scarp).

Recovery actions include population monitoring, management of nature reserves, and captive breeding at Perth Zoo[9] and subsequent reintroduction and introduction.

This species is notable in conservation history for being the first example of an endangered vertebrate that is being translocated to a distant location (200 kilometers poleward) expressly because of climate change.