Portus has been Director of Public Affairs at the National Museum of Australia and a board member of the Sydney Star Observer and Currency Press. From 1989 to 2000 he was an ABC TV and Radio National arts broadcaster and producer. He was the presenter of Arts National, presenter of Performance (a performing arts specialist program), and the producer/presenter of Arts Today. He has worked as a theatre critic for over twenty years. He trained at NIDA, holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Adelaide (Major Politics) and a Diploma of International Journalism from City University, London.
Portus has also written an adolescent educational reader, What Did You Pinch Today? (1976).
