There are three subspecies of the yellow-faced honeyeater, two of which were described by Gregory Mathews in 1912. There are only very slight differences between the nominate race and C. c. samueli found in the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia, and C. c. barroni from the Clarke Range and the Atherton Tableland in Queensland. The latter race is described as poorly differentiated and possibly not worthy of recognition by the Handbook of the Birds of the World.