The Black-footed Rock-wallaby is a moderately-sized macropod with a body mass of 2.8-4.5 kg. As in other rock-wallabies, the tail (mean length of 56 cm) is longer than the head-body (mean length of 49 cm).
Northern Territory rock-wallabies, centred in the MacDonnell Ranges, belong to a currently undescribed subspecies. A dense coat of dark grizzled brown fur passing to grey on the shoulders distinguishes this subspecies.
The chest is grey; the belly buff. The face is marked by a sandy cheek stripe. The ears are dark brown near the tip fading to fawn at the base. A dark brown to black dorsal stripe extends from between the ears to behind the shoulders. The feet are grey brown and the digits are black. The forearms are sandy dorsally and darker ventrally and the paws are dark brown to black. A distinct white stripe with wider dark brown stripe immediately ventral extends from the axillary patch to the thighs.
The tail is dark grey proximally, becomes browner distally and ends in a dark brown to black brush.