Paul Wilson was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, on 12 January 1972 and earned the nickname Blocker during his playing days. He worked as a trainee accountant before moving to Adelaide to attend the Australian Cricket Academy. He played as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, representing South Australia from 1993/94 to 2001/02 and later playing for Western Australia from 2002/03 to 2003/04 before retiring from playing at the end of the 2003/04 season.
His international playing career for Australia happened entirely during the 1997/98 season. He made his ODI debut against New Zealand on 17 December 1997 and played his final ODI against them on 14 February 1998, appearing in 11 ODIs overall. He also played a single Test match against India on 18 March 1998, where he bowled 72 balls without taking a wicket and scored no runs before limping off injured.
After finishing his playing career, Wilson served as coach of the Western Fury in the Women's National Cricket League. He then transitioned into officiating. In men's international cricket, he stood in 8 Test matches between 2019 and 2023, 36 ODI matches between 2014 and 2022, and 26 T20I matches between 2014 and 2022.
His officiating career also covered the women's international game. He umpired 1 women's Test match in 2011, 8 women's ODI matches between 2017 and 2022, and 1 women's T20I match in 2011. Wilson announced his retirement from umpiring in February 2024.