It extends from Indonesia to Vanuatu. In Indonesia, it is found in the Moluccas (the islands Morotai, Halmahera, Bacan, Buru, Ambon, Seram, and Kai), the Raja Ampat islands (Waigeo; Wiantoro 2011) and Kaimana in the West Papua Province, the Schouten Islands (the islands Numfoor, Biak and Yapen), and northern areas of Papua Province adjacent to Papua New Guinea. In Papua New Guinea it is found either side of the central cordillera, the Trobriand Islands (Kiriwina), the D'Entrecasteaux Islands (the islands of Goodenough, Fergusson, Normanby), the Woodlark Islands (Muyua), Lousiade Archipelago (Misima), the Bismarck Archipelago (New Britain, New Ireland, Mussau; Armstrong et al. 2015), and Bougainville and Buka islands. It is also found on most of the Solomon Islands, the Santa Cruz Islands (Nendo), and Vanuatu (islands of Espiritu Santo and Malekula) (Bonaccorso 1998; Flannery 1995 a,b). It is also likely to occur on some of the smaller islands within the aforementioned range. A general lack of survey effort is likely to be the reason why it appears absent from other parts of the Papua and West Papua provinces of Indonesia. Records are mostly from lowland areas but reach as high as c. 1,400 m asl elevation in the highlands of Papua New Guinea (Armstrong 2017).

Key conservation actions for this species are the protection of known roosting sites in caves, and the identification and protection of additional important roosting sites. Broadscale protection of forests will also help maintain population size in this species. Although it is listed here as Least Concern, if further genetic work shows the existence of distinct species or evolutionary significant units in areas where population size and extent of occurrence could be limited, then reassessment would be required. In the meantime, any development proposal that presents a risk to a small, isolated population should consider the possibility that it might be part of a more restricted taxon that is worthy of special consideration.