In regard to Evans' claims that Gunwinyguan could possibly be a sister to the Macro-Pama-Nyungan family, McConvell and Bowern both note that Gunwinyguan cannot  be classed as both a sister to the Macro-Pama-Nyungan family and as a part of the Arnhem Land family subgroup simultaneously.
Evans' claims about Gunwinyguan being related to the Macro-Pama-Nyungan language family are disputed by McConvell and Bowern, who argue that Gunwinyguan cannot be both a sister to the Macro-Pama-Nyungan family and part of the Arnhem Land subgroup at the same time.