After spending most of 2010 refereeing in the NSW Cup (reserve grade), Luke Phillips made his first grade debut as a referee on 21 August for a Round 24 match of the 2010 NRL season at AAMI Park in Melbourne as the Melbourne Storm defeated Cronulla 24-4. He then made a further three appearances in the 2011 NRL season while mostly officiating in the 2011 NSW Cup. He spent all of 2012 refereeing in the NSW Cup, though he has since become a regular first grade referee in the 2013 NRL season. Although he was yet to make his NRL debut as a referee at the time, Phillips was selected alongside Ashley Klein, Shayne Hayne and Gavin Badger to referee the inaugural NRL All Stars game at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast in 2010. Phillips juggles his time as a full-time NRL referee with running his own Pinball and Video game supply business.