Phylogenetic and morphological analyses indicate that Petrogale brachyotis (sensu lato) represents at least two separate species: P. brachyotis (sensu stricto) from the Kimberley and western Northern Territory, and P. wilkinsi from the northern and eastern Northern Territory (Potter et al. 2014).

This recently recognised species is unlikely to meet any criteria for listing as threatened and it is listed Least Concern. Although the population size is unknown, it is almost certainly more than 10,000 mature individuals and it has a large extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO). There is no ongoing monitoring for the species. It is possible that it is undergoing decline in at least some sites because of changed fire regimes and predation by feral cats, however any such decline is likely to be of small magnitude.

The Eastern Short-eared Rock-wallaby is restricted to rocky areas in the monsoonal tropics of the Northern Territory, extending to far north-western Queensland, Australia. It occurs in disjunct populations from east of the Daly River (in the west) to Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park (in the east), with sites occupied including Kakadu, Litchfield National Park, Mt Borradaile, Umbrawara Gorge, Butterfly Gorge, Ngukurr, Grindall Point and Wollogorang (Potter et al. 2014). It also occurs on at least 12 islands: Groote Eylandt (2,285 km²) and Bickerton Island (226 km²); Marchinbar (210 km²), Raragala (94 km²), Wigram (23 km²) and four small islands (<1 km²) in the Wessel and English Company group (Woinarski et al. 1999); and Vanderlin (263 km²), North (55 km²) and Centre (84 km²) Islands in the Sir Edward Pellew group (Woinarski et al. 2011). Abbott (1980) and, following that source, Abbott and Burbidge (1995), also recorded it from Guluwuru, Djeegaree, Jirrgari, Bumaka, Rimbija and Toombuli (as Alger) Islands, but these were not confirmed in subsequent surveys (Woinarski et al. 1999).

There is little information on abundance or population size for this species. Press (1988) considered it 'locally common' in Kakadu NP. Woinarski et al. (1999) reported it to be 'patchily common' on some islands in the Wessel and English Company Islands group, and Telfer and Garde (2006) considered it to be abundant in Arnhem Land. It was not represented in a monitoring program for mammals in Kakadu National Park (Woinarski et al. 2010), and there are no substantial data on its recent, current or likely future population trajectory. Home-range size was calculated to be ca. 15-20 ha (Telfer and Griffiths 2006) at one site at Litchfield NP. Assuming comparable densities across its extensive range, the population size is likely to be appreciably more than 10,000 mature individuals.

The Eastern Short-eared Rock-wallaby is restricted to rocky areas in the monsoonal tropics of the Northern Territory and far north-western Queensland, Australia. It uses rock piles, caves and outcrops as denning sites (Telfer and Griffiths 2006, Telfer and Garde 2006, Telfer et al. 2008). One radio-tracking study of 10 individuals found home-range size was ca. 18 ha (Telfer and Griffiths 2008). The diet comprises a mix of forbs, grass, shrubs, seeds and fruit, with higher proportion of grass eaten in the wet season (Telfer and Bowman 2006). Fire regimes that maintain a diversity of plant species, including pulses of re-sprouting grass, may be critical for maintaining food resources and habitat quality (Telfer and Bowman 2006). A recent camera trap image showed a cat killing an adult Eastern Short-eared Rock-wallaby (Lavery et al. 2021).

As for many other rock-wallaby species (Lavery et al. 2021), the main threats for the Eastern Short-eared Rock-wallaby are likely to be invasive predators (in this case, feral cats Felis catus) and inappropriate fire regimes. Feral cats are patchily common throughout the mainland range of this species (Stobo-Wilson et al. 2020) and on Groote Eylandt and Vanderlin Island (Woinarski et al. 2011); and the Eastern Short-eared Rock-wallaby is within the preferred prey size range for feral cats (Woinarski et al. 2019). Across its range, current fire regimes are likely to be too extensive, frequent, and severe (Russell-Smith et al. 2017). The species probably prefers fine-scale low intensity fires that leave a patchwork of local habitats of varying age since fire (Telfer and Garde 2006). In parts of its range, the trend for increasingly severe and frequent fires is being driven by spread of invasive pasture grasses, especially gamba grass Andropogon gayanus (Rossiter-Rachor et al. 2023).

Formerly hunted occasionally by First Nations people; but likely to be little or no hunting now (Telfer and Garde 2008).

Much of the range of the Eastern Short-eared Rock-wallaby occurs in large national parks (e.g., Litchfield, Kakadu) and Indigenous Protected Areas, and such reservation offers some security. However, the threats that affect this species (fire and feral cats) occur pervasively across tenures, and fire regimes in some reserves are likely to reduce habitat quality (Russell-Smith et al. 2017, Einoder et al. 2023). Some islands occupied by this species do not have feral cats.