Generally nocturnal, the crossback stingaree spends long stretches of the day lying motionless on the sea floor, partially or completely buried in sediment.
It has been known to form groups of varying size, sometimes mixing with other stingaree species.
This ray is a generalist predator that forages for small organisms on or buried in the bottom.
Off Victoria, over three-quarters of prey consumed are crustaceans, of which isopods (particularly Natalolana woodjonesi and N. wowine) comprise the majority and amphipods and decapods the remainder.
Polychaete worms are also eaten in significant quantities, while priapulids and the burrowing squid Euprymna tasmanica are infrequently taken.
Young rays under 30 cm (12 in) across feed mainly on smaller isopods, amphipods, and shrimps; with age a progressively greater diversity of larger prey, such as penaeid prawns, priapulids, and polychaetes, are incorporated into its diet.

The broadnose sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus) is known to prey on the crossback stingaree.
When threatened, this ray raises its tail warningly above its body in a scorpion-like fashion.
Parasites documented from this species include a tapeworm in the genus Acanthobothrium, and the monogenean Calicotyle urolophi.
Like other stingrays, the crossback stingaree is aplacental viviparous: when the developing embryos exhaust their supply of yolk, their mother provisions them with nutrient-rich histotroph ("uterine milk") through specialized extensions of the uterine epithelium called "trophonemata".
Females produce litters of 1–4 pups every other year.
Embryonic development proceeds rapidly over a six-month period, though the total gestation period may be much longer if there is a period of dormancy for the eggs after fertilization, as has been reported in other stingarees.
Off Tasmania, large estuaries such as at the mouth of the River Derwent serve as nursery areas.

Different authors have variously reported the birth length at between 10 and 15 cm (3.9 and 5.9 in), and the maturation length at between 20 and 32 cm (7.9 and 12.6 in), with females usually maturing at a slightly larger size than males.
This range of sizes may reflect life history differences in crossback stingarees across different parts of its range.
Both sexes mature at around six years of age, and can live to at least 11 years.
The crossback stingaree may hybridize naturally with the closely related yellowback stingaree off southern New South Wales, where the distributions of the two species overlap and apparent hybrid offspring with intermediate color patterns have been found.
If true, this would represent one of the few known cases of hybridization among cartilaginous fishes.
Generally nocturnal, the crossback stingaree spends long stretches of the day lying motionless on the sea floor, partially or completely buried in sediment. It has been known to form groups of varying size, sometimes mixing with other stingaree species. This ray is a generalist predator that forages for small organisms on or buried in the bottom. Off Victoria, over three-quarters of prey consumed are crustaceans, of which isopods (particularly Natalolana woodjonesi and N. wowine) comprise the majority and amphipods and decapods the remainder. Polychaete worms are also eaten in significant quantities, while priapulids and the burrowing squid Euprymna tasmanica are infrequently taken. Young rays under 30 cm (12 in) across feed mainly on smaller isopods, amphipods, and shrimps; with age a progressively greater diversity of larger prey, such as penaeid prawns, priapulids, and polychaetes, are incorporated into its diet.
The broadnose sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus) is known to prey on the crossback stingaree. When threatened, this ray raises its tail warningly above its body in a scorpion-like fashion. Parasites documented from this species include a tapeworm in the genus Acanthobothrium, and the monogenean Calicotyle urolophi. Like other stingrays, the crossback stingaree is aplacental viviparous: when the developing embryos exhaust their supply of yolk, their mother provisions them with nutrient-rich histotroph ("uterine milk") through specialized extensions of the uterine epithelium called "trophonemata". Females produce litters of 1–4 pups every other year. Embryonic development proceeds rapidly over a six-month period, though the total gestation period may be much longer if there is a period of dormancy for the eggs after fertilization, as has been reported in other stingarees. Off Tasmania, large estuaries such as at the mouth of the River Derwent serve as nursery areas.
Different authors have variously reported the birth length at between 10 and 15 cm (3.9 and 5.9 in), and the maturation length at between 20 and 32 cm (7.9 and 12.6 in), with females usually maturing at a slightly larger size than males. This range of sizes may reflect life history differences in crossback stingarees across different parts of its range. Both sexes mature at around six years of age, and can live to at least 11 years. The crossback stingaree may hybridize naturally with the closely related yellowback stingaree off southern New South Wales, where the distributions of the two species overlap and apparent hybrid offspring with intermediate color patterns have been found. If true, this would represent one of the few known cases of hybridization among cartilaginous fishes.
Crossback stingaree