 In 2005, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia, "for service to politics as National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party and to the community in the areas of tertiary education and promoting closer ties between Australia and Hong Kong".Walsh was appointed Chief of Staff to Victorian Premier Steve Bracks in September 2006.He is currently a special advisor to Marius Kloppers, the CEO of BHP Billiton, having previously been the company's director of public affairs.