Dr. Harvey graduated in medicine from the University of Melbourne and then worked as a medical officer in Papua and New Guinea. Stimulated by the problem of infectious diseases, he returned to Australia to train as a specialist in medical microbiology and infectious diseases at the University of New South Wales. Another year of postgraduate training was spent as registrar in medical computing in the NSW Health Department. He then returned to Victoria, first working at Monash University and then at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, initially as Clinical Assistant, then Assistant Microbiologist and finally as Director of Microbiology.

An interest in bacterial resistance to antibiotics led to a study of antibiotic prescribing and then the forces at work on the pen that writes the script. This eventually resulted in a move from public hospital practice to academic public health at La Trobe University with a special focus on medicinal drug policy.  

Dr. Harvey  has been involved in multi-disciplinary research, education and public policy designed to optimise the use of antibiotics (and other medicinal drugs) for over twenty five years. Through research, commissioned policy papers and inaugural membership of the Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Health and Rational use of Medicines (PHARM) Committee he has played a role in formulating, implementing and evaluating the quality use of medicines pillar of Australian medicinal drug policy.  

Dr. Harvey has also worked on these issues in SE Asia under a variety of auspices: WHO, AusAID and especially Consumers International (Health Action International Asia Pacific). He was the Australian project director of a $4.0 million, 4 year AusAID program of assistance to the Philippines National Drug Policy and has assisted HAIAP in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Laos, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines. More recently, he has worked as a consultant for the Australian Health Insurance Commission (& USAID) on medicinal drug policy reform in Croatia and Jordan.