In a professional capacity he served on a series of investigations and commissions; the first Committee of Enquiry into the Salaries and Allowances of Members of the Commonwealth Parliament (1959). In 1964, he was chairman of the Council on New Guinea Affairs which prepared the way for the independence of Papua New Guinea. The Menzies Government appointed him to the council of the Australian National University in 1955. He was also a member of the National Committee and Editorial Board of the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
