He attended the local primary and high school before studying at the University of Canberra where he completed a Bachelor of Arts in communication.

[1] Corbell was first elected to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly in 1997 as a member for the electorate of Molonglo in a countback following the resignation of former Chief Minister Rosemary Follett.

In 2013, he introduced the bill for the Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013 (ACT), which the Legislative Assembly passed by a single vote but which was soon overturned in the High Court.

[4] On 14 August 2015, Simon Corbell announced his decision to retire from politics[5] at the 2016 Australian Capital Territory election.

In April 2024, Corbell was appointed chairman of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria.