He was chairman of the Don Road Trust and senior warden of the Mersey Marine Board.

He also held office as a Freemason in their Grand Lodge of Tasmania and was a long-time member of the Independent Order of Rechabites.

[1] Hays was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly as a member for Wilmot at a 1911 by-election, having nominated as a Liberal League candidate.

[4][5] Hays was re-elected at the 1912 election, at which time the Daily Telegraph described him as "essentially a representative of the agricultural industry.

In 1922, he transferred to federal politics, winning a Tasmanian seat in the Australian Senate as a Nationalist.