He later earned a master's degree and a Licentiate of Canon Law at Saint Paul University, Ottawa.

In the Diocese of Parramatta, he was also the Episcopal Vicar for Consecrated Life and for the Pastoral Care of Health Workers.

[citation needed] In addition, he served as President of the Canon Law Society of Australia and New Zealand (1999–2006); Professor of Canon Law at University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney; as Judge of the Court of Appeal for New Zealand and Australia; as the Judicial Vicar of the Court of Appeal for the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific; and as Director of the Institute of Tribunal Practice, affiliated with the Catholic Institute of Sydney.

[2] Among other roles, he has worked in pastoral care in numerous parishes, as a professor of canon law and as a judge of the Roman Catholic Appeals Tribunal of Australia and New Zealand.

[4] On 24 May 2023, Pope Francis appointed Kenneth Howell to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba after accepting the resignation of Bishop Robert McGuckin.