His first employment was with the Auckland Post Office as a messenger, and this was followed by work as a journalist for the New Zealand Observer.

At night, he studied towards a law degree, which led to employment as a clerk in Hamilton in 1907, followed by setting up his own practice in rural Waikato's Te Kūiti in the following year.

[1][5] In 1942, he was Minister of National Service in the short-lived War Administration.

[10] In 1955, Broadfoot was granted the use of the title of "Honourable" for life, having served more than three years as a member of the Executive Council.

[11] He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1955 Queen's Birthday Honours,[12] and died in 1965.