Dr Cunniffe is a Licensed Builder and in addition to membership in the Australian Society of Building Consultants is a member of the Master Builders Association, and its Building Consultants Group. He has experience in general construction and in work site accident or incident reporting.

He has built 54 houses, 4 townhouse developments, and performed hundreds of quality control inspections. He conducted safety and security risk assessments in the Royal New Zealand Navy, the New Zealand Army, and on constructions sites in Sydney. He has qualifications in science, process engineering, construction and workplace health and safety.