On his return to Australia in 1952, Shaw became Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Sydney, and from 1953 to 1956 was Sub-Warden at St Paul's College. He was the inaugural President of the History Teachers' Association of New South Wales from 1960 to 1964, and was co-editor of its journal, "Teaching History". While in Sydney, he served on the Council of the Royal Australian Historical Society, and was editor of their journal from 1954 to 1964. He was the first professionally trained historian to edit the journal.