Michael is Professor of Health Economics at the UTS Business School, a Policy Advisor to UARC and a visiting scholar at ANU. He is a member of the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority's (IHACPA) Aged Care Advisory Committee and was an Independent Reviewer for the COAG Health Council review of the accreditation system of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for the health workforce.

Mike has had a long career in economics and public finance in the Commonwealth and the two Territory Governments. He is also currently a Senior Advisor to the OECD on policy development. From 1998 to 2014 he was a Commissioner, then Deputy Chair, of the Australian Productivity Commission. He presided on over 20 national policy inquiries, including reports on the Australian Health Workforce, Caring for Older Australians and Science and Innovation. He was previously the Under Treasurer for the ACT and a member of the Australian Statistical Advisory Board.

Mike has worked closely with national ministries in China on fiscal reform and similarly in Viet Nam on economic reform.

Mike is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales and a Member of the Centre for Strategy and Governance.