Born in Brunswick, Melbourne, Kelty was educated at La Trobe University where he studied economics.
He resigned from the Board of the Reserve Bank on 4 March 1996 due to the election of the Howard Coalition Government two days earlier.
[2] Kelty was an author of the Prices and Incomes Accord between the trade unions and the Labor government.
He was Paul Keating's witness to the Kiribilli Pact concerning leadership of the Australian Labor Party.
[citation needed] Kelty was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2008.