Justice Peter Heerey graduated with degrees in Law (First Class Honours) and Arts from the University of Tasmania. From 1967, Justice Heerey practised for four years as a solicitor and then as a barrister at the Victorian Bar and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1985.
He has been Deputy President of the Australian Competition Tribunal and president of the Defence Force Discipline Appeals Tribunal. Since 1990 he has been a Federal Court judge.