He was educated at Chevalier College and the University of Sydney where he received a PhD in marine science, studying the management of contaminated sediments.
Setting up his own environmental consulting firm in 1986, Irvine has worked in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, South Korea, Papua-New Guinea, Mauritius, Bali, Fiji and Western Samoa.
During the course of his career he played a role in developing Australia's national guidelines for protection of the oceanic environment and still works in this field.
They are set a little way in Earth's future and shows the impact climate change is having on politics, the economy and life in general.
In addition to fantasy fiction Irvine has also written a number of other works including The Truth About Publishing and The Art and Science of Book Promotion which both 'tell it like it is' about being a successful author.
His second children's series, The Sorcerer's Tower, is a quartet of short books for younger readers (from around eight years and up) and was published in 2008 and illustrated in black and white by Australian artist and fantasy novelist D. M. Cornish.