Career
In his first speech to state parliament, Whiteley stated that in 1993 he opened, in conjunction with two other people, a Christian training and retreat centre in Sheffield. He worked in this role for seven years. He served as an alderman for the City of Burnie from 1999 to 2002.
In November 2012, Whiteley was endorsed as the Liberal candidate for the federal seat of Braddon.
On September 27, 2015, Prime Minister Turnbull announced that Whiteley would replace Andrew Nikolic as a Government Whip in the House of Representatives.