The southern school whiting has a body colour of creamy brown to rusty above, before an abrupt transition to a silvery white below, with a brilliant longitudinal silver band separating the colours. A narrow rusty brown horizontal band is positioned above the silver band, with irregular red-brown oblique blotches and broken stripes positioned on the back and upper sides, much like "Sillago maculata". The dorsal fins have rows of rusty brown or red-orange spots, the anal fins are yellow to hyaline in colour, while all other fins are pale cream, white or hyaline in appearance. There is no black blotch at the base of the pectoral fin.