Wayne Goss practised as a lawyer in his own firm for ten years. He then entered State Parliament and was Leader of the Opposition after four years, and Premier less than two years later in 1989.

His government was credited with a wide ranging program of change locally and with its participation in a national reform program. That national program, first with Prime Ministers Hawke and then with Keating, was characterised by achieving progress through agreement. The highlights were Energy and Competition Policy. On retiring as Premier in 1996, Wayne enrolled in a MBA at the University of Queensland and completed his post graduate studies in 1997.

In 1998 he began his consultancy career – working with Deloitte, Macquarie Bank and Corrs Chambers Westgarth – and this continued until 2000 when he accepted the position as Managing Partner Queensland for Deloitte. In addition to this role he was also a member of the Deloitte National Management Committee and twice chaired the Deloitte Board Nominating Committee. Commenting on his appointment Wayne Goss said, "I have had some great experiences in law, and some great experiences in government, and I’m now essentially in my ‘third career’.