Following service in the Australian Army, Joe studied history and political science at the University of Tasmania, graduating with first class honours in 1984. He joined the Antarctic Division, Department of Science in 1985, subsequently transferring to the Australian Department of Defence where he spent 21 years in a variety of appointments including positions in strategic policy, capability development and finance. He spent 2 years working in the Pentagon on exchange with the US Department of Defense in 1994-96. In 2001 he was promoted to the Senior Executive Service.

In 2005 he transferred to the Department of Finance where he had responsibility in Budget Group for a range of portfolio departments and agencies including Defence, Communications and the Arts, Energy, Infrastructure and Regional Australia.

Following his retirement from the Commonwealth public service in 2014, Joe chaired a small investment company working to introduce a new model for retail electricity services in the national electricity market. He continued to pursue his interests in public policy by engaging with Commonwealth entities such as the Productivity Commission and independent bodies such as the Grattan Institute. He is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Outside of work Joe has a strong interest in military history, public finance, and the environment. Research in these areas has involved delving into the holdings of state archives in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, the National Archives of Australia and the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States.   

He is a bushwalker in his native Tasmania, and anywhere else that is off the beaten track. He has a particular fondness for mountains, Italian cars, and his wife, Helen, and son Peter.