Houston took up rugby refereeing as a high school student at Shore in Sydney, and continued refereeing at senior club level while studying law at the University of New South Wales.
He became a first grade referee in the Shute Shield competition, including an appointment as an assistant referee for the 2012 grand final after graduating in 2011.
Houston was appointed to semi-final matches in Melbourne and Canberra in 2014 and 2015 for Australia's National Rugby Championship.
He was appointed to the referees panel for Super Rugby in 2016.
