Goddard was admitted to the bar in 1975, and started to practise as a barrister in 1977. Her work included a period as a member of the committee which helped establish a facility for victims of sexual abuse, which assisted police to establish a better approach to the examination and interviewing of victims. She also took part in a youth advocacy pilot for children and young people, and was a member of a panel on New Zealand's policy regarding children in care. In 1988, she and Sian Elias were the two first women to be appointed Queen's Counsel in New Zealand. She was Crown Counsel and Head of the Criminal Law Team at the Crown Law Office in Wellington from 1989 to 1995, and served as Deputy Solicitor-General of New Zealand from 1992 to 1995. In 1990, she was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, and in 1993 she received the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal. She became a High Court judge in December 1995, based in Wellington, and is believed to be the first person of Māori descent to have served as a High Court judge. She also sat as a member of the Criminal Division of the New Zealand Court of Appeal. She was the first woman to serve as chair of New Zealand's Independent Police Conduct Authority, from 2007 to 2012. In that capacity she also served as an expert to the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torturefrom 2010 to 2016. She was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to the law. In February 2015, she was appointed to head the statutory public inquiry to replace the Independent Panel Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales. The British Home Secretary, Theresa May, described her as highly respected and an outstanding candidate with experience in challenging authority in this field. Goddard said she was honoured to lead the inquiry and was aware of the scale of the undertaking, saying that "the many, many survivors of child sexual abuse, committed over decades, deserve a robust and thorough investigation of the appalling crimes perpetrated upon them." In August 2016, she tendered her resignation from the child abuse inquiry in a letter to the Home SecretaryAmber Rudd. Shortly after she wrote a report to the Home Secretary outlining her concerns on issues faced by the Inquiry. Claims of racism and bullying made in British newspapers, more than two months after her resignation, were "strenuoulsy denied" by her. In November 2016, Goddard announced that she would not be appearing in person before the Home Affairs Select Committee, citing legal advice; her decision was criticised by the committee's chairwoman, Yvette Cooper.
