Of Australian nationality, Terence Kevin Tobin was born on 20 April 1943. A lawyer by education (he studied at the University of Melbourne), he has practiced law and taught law at a number of Australian universities, including the Australian Catholic University. He has held the title of Kings Counsel since 1985. He has written books and articles on legal topics and Catholic journals.

Between 2016 and 2019 he was the President of Aid to the Church in Need Australia. Since 2015 he has been International Regent, Bethlehem University, Palestine.

He presented his credentials as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Timor-Leste on 11 February 2021.