Lawless began his career with the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1985[7] as held a number of positions with the Department throughout his career including three ambassadorships. Lawless worked as the speechwriter for the Foreign Minister and Trade Minister from 1992 and 1993 and then as an adviser in the Trade Minister's office in 1993.[8] By 1998 Lawless began serving in senior Department positions beginning with the Director of the Staffing Operations Section in DFAT's Staffing Branch.[9] His first ambassadorial appointment to Poland was announced by the Minister Alexander Downer on 30 May 2002 replacing Margaret Adamson.[7] Lawless's replacement Ian Forsyth was announced in April 2005 and he completed his post in Poland in June 2005.[10] Prior to his appointment as Ambassador to Poland he served as the head of the Trade Development Branch and Trade and Economic Analysis Branch, the Deputy Head of Mission in South Africa and Russia and a diplomatic posting in France[8]
Lawless was announced as the Ambassador to Portugal with non-resident accreditation to Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and Sao Tome and Principe on 24 August 2009 by Minister Stephen Smith, he replaced Luke Williams.[11][12][13] He was replaced by Anne Plunkett in May 2012.[12] After 2012 Lawless served as the head of DFAT's Resources, Competitiveness and Trade Analysis Branch.[14][15]
Lawless was appointed the Ambassador to Brazil on 12 February 2014 by Minister Julie Bishop replacing Brett Hackett.[4][14] While Ambassador to Brazil, Lawless, along with Austrade, was involved in organising and facilitating Australian involvement in the Brazilian Association of Water Resources Symposium which allowed for water management experts from Australia to train Brazilian stakeholders.[16] He also met the Socceroos when they landed in Curitiba prior to their third World Cup game.[17]
In January 2016, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced that Lawless would be replaced by John Richardson in February.[5]
^ ab"Bilateral political relations". Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Canberra. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ abcDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade. "Ambassador to Brazil". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 21 April 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ abcBishop, Julie (12 February 2014). "Ambassador to Brazil" (Press release). Canberra, Australia: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
