Richard has a wide range of heritage experience both technical and policy as a heritage practitioner derived from working as heritage adviser and historical archaeologist, including on Australian national, state/territory and local heritage policy and advice, and heritage conservation management.  This has been as a private consultant, as a Commonwealth and State public servant and advisor, working in heritage/archaeology for over four decades.

Richard has been an active Member of Australia ICOMOS since 1981, including in relation to the 1999 revision of the Burr Charter and as a founding Co-Convenor of the active National Scientific Committee for Intangible Cultural Heritage. He held this position for 6 years where he was a co-author of the formal Practice Note on ICH and its supporting Background Note.  He is still on the Coordinating Group.  He has contributed advice to various AICOMOS submissions over the years.

Before retiring from the Commonwealth, and since, he has contributed to several national and international, professional, heritage and community organisations.  He has been a member of the Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology, the Australian Archaeological Association since 1974, and was on the founding National Executive of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists from 1979.

Richard has several qualifications, including a B Ec degree (University of Sydney) and a Litt B (ANU) a postgraduate degree in archaeology.  In 2015 he was appointed to be an Expert Examiner under the Commonwealth’s Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986.  He has been published by ANU in a technical, archaeological monograph, and in various professional and other journals including Historic Environment, delivering papers at a range of professional and public fora, including for Australia ICOMOS, ASHA, AAA, ANZAAS and Interpretation Australia.