Yellow-spotted Honeyeater is endemic to Australia where it is distributed in much the same area as Graceful Honeyeater along the western and eastern sides of Cape York as far south as Paluma. It tends to be found at higher altitudes than Graceful Honeyeater.

However, the best method of identification is the voice. Yellow-spotted has a very loud, slow and deliberate series of descending notes which is quite different from the "chip" of Graceful and the machine-gun of Lewin's