The Kelp Gull occurs along the coasts of all of the continents in the Southern Hemisphere, but it was not recorded in Australia until the 1920s, when a specimen was collected near Perth. The species became established in Australia in the 1940s, and their populations increased and range expanded greatly in the 1960s — they are now recorded on the coasts of all states. Although the species is the least populous of the gulls that breed on the Australian coastline, they are especially common in Tasmania.
