Burhinus grallarius has been recorded from all but the most arid parts of mainland Australia, and many offshore islands. A tiny breeding population is also found in southern New Guinea (Papua, formerly Irian Jaya, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea). In Australia, it is now largely absent south and east of the Great Dividing Range, and is scarce elsewhere in southern Australia. Estimates of the population in New South Wales are around 1,000 pairs, with scattered records in coastal areas north of Sydney and west of the divide⁹. The northern Victorian population is apparently declining with counts of 328 birds in 1985 and 141 in 1991. It appears to have disappeared from 90% of its mainland range in South Australia⁷, and the only secure populations that remain occur on islands⁸. It has been declining in south-western Australia since the 1920s. It remains common in northern Australia and on many continental islands, even within towns¹, although it has declined in southern Queensland. Island populations may be isolated. The total Australian population has been estimated at 15,000 individuals². The long-term viability of most of the populations that are being monitored and surveyed remains unclear⁹.