Brigadier Peter Clay was born in 1964 and completed his education in Yeppoon, Central Queensland. He graduated from the Officer Cadet School Portsea in December 1983 into the Royal Australian Engineers.

His Regimental service has featured command of 2 Troop (Para), Second-in-Command of 20th Divisional Engineer Support Squadron, Officer Commanding 1st Field Squadron and Commanding Officer of 1st Combat Engineer Regiment. He assumed his current appointment as the Commander of the Land Combat Readiness Centre and Deputy Commander of the 1st Division in January 2009.

As a staff officer he has served widely including on the Operations Staff in 3rd Division, with the Military Geographic Information Pilot Project in Darwin and on promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, as a lead staff officer responsible for interpreting and implementing major Defence White paper changes across the combat force.

His instructional appointments have included training Army recruits, tactics instruction at the Royal Military College, Senior Instructor at the United Kingdom Combat Engineer School and as a member of the Directing Staff at the Australian Command and Staff College. He was promoted to Colonel in April 2005 and appointed as the Director of Military Art at the Royal Military College of Australia where he led a major reform of Army Officer training and education.

Operationally, he served in Mozambique with the United Nations as Commander of the first Australian Contingent responsible for training and conduct of land mine clearance. In 2007, he was embedded with the US military as Chief of Combined Operations in Headquarters Multi-National Force-Iraq (Baghdad).

Brigadier Clay attended the Australian Army Command and Staff College at Queenscliff in 1997 and the Centre of Defence and Strategic Studies in Weston Creek in 2008. He has a Bachelor of Professional Studies from the University of New England, a Masters of Defence Studies from the University of Canberra and a Masters of arts in Strategic Studies from Deakin University.

Brigadier Clay was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in the 2005 Australia Day honours for outstanding achievement as Commanding Officer of the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment, particularly in the field of combat capability. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service as a lead strategic planner with the United States Military in Iraq. The Chief of Army appointed Brigadier Clay as Head of Corps for Royal Australian Engineers in July 2009.

Brigadier Clay and his wife Chris have one son, Marcus (1999). His leisure interests include keeping fit, most sports, reading widely, studying foreign cultures and spending quality time with family and friends.