[4] He undertook postgraduate studies in industrial law at the University of New South Wales and is also a graduate of the Harvard Trade Union Program.

A review by professional services firm Deloitte noted a lack of governance arrangements in the operation of the fund, which should have been in place to ensure its formal separation from the TWU.

[9] In October 2015, he led a delegation to the International Labour Organization lobbying for a plan based on the Australian Safe Rates model to tackle unfair and unsafe remuneration as the root cause of the high global death toll in trucking.

[14] The Sydney Morning Herald described him as a "strong backer of Labor leader Bill Shorten" and speculated he would be elevated to the ministry if the party won government.

[2] Following the election of the Labor Government, on 24 July 2022, Sheldon was appointed Special Envoy for Disaster Recovery by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.