Michael moves to Erinsborough with his daughter, after he is given the position of Principal at the local high school. Having previously worked at a rural high school, Michael implements some new ideas, such as letting students refer to the teachers by their first name and asking them to come to him with suggestions on how to improve the school.
Libby Kennedy (
Kym Valentine) is not impressed and she and Michael clash. When Michael sees Natasha's provocative posters for PirateNet, he asks Paul Robinson to remove them. Paul refuses and Michael threatens to sue him. He backs down when Natasha and
Andrew Robinson (
Jordan Patrick Smith) change the posters. Michael becomes friends with Lucas Fitzgerald and he gives him a job teaching technical classes at the school. While he is out to dinner with Natasha and her new boyfriend,
Kyle Canning (
Chris Milligan), Michael is forced to break up a fight between Kyle and
Chris Pappas (James Mason). Michael notices Chris was defending Andrew and he tries to talk to him, but Chris pushes him away. Michael later asks Chris if he thinks he is gay and Chris comes out, with Michael's support. Michael meets Ruby Rogers and they go on a couple of dates. They decide to have an entire relationship in one day, before Ruby's departure. Michael asks Ruby to stay with him, but she declines. Michael throws himself into organising the School Social and he bonds with Rebecca Robinson. Rebecca and Michael almost kiss, when she tells him things between her and Paul are not good. Michael is devastated when he witnesses Paul and Rebecca renewing their wedding vows. Rebecca gives him a letter explaining her feelings for him before she goes away to Oakey. When Number 26 catches fire, Michael rushes inside to rescue Natasha. The firefighters get Natasha and
Summer Hoyland (
Jordy Lucas) out, but the roof collapses trapping Michael and Andrew. They are eventually rescued and taken to the hospital. Rebecca returns and tells Michael she wants to be with him, but leaving Paul will be difficult. Michael tells her he loves her. Andrew tells Michael that Natasha is pregnant, which initially anger him, but he tells his daughter he will support her. Rebecca shocks Michael when she confesses to pushing Paul from the Lassiter's Hotel mezzanine. Rebecca leaves Paul and moves in with Michael. Paul discovers the relationship and tries to sabotage Michael's career, by getting him suspended. Michael proposes to Rebecca and she accepts. However, she decides to leave the country with her family, when she realises Paul will not stop trying to get revenge on her. Summer reveals Natasha lied about being pregnant and Michael tells his daughter that he no longer trusts her. Michael's job suspension is lifted and on his return to the school, he learns Paul has been voted onto the school board. Michael installs a no uniform policy, which is supported by Libby. However, after unrest from students and parents, Michael concedes defeat and scraps the policy. When Michael learns Natasha is dating
Ivan DeMarco (Ben Knight), he tells her to break off the relationship. He later discovers there are naked pictures of Natasha on the internet and he confronts his daughter. Natasha denies taking the pictures and believing Ivan took them, Michael punches him. Michael comforts Natasha when someone sprays derogatory graffiti about her around the street. However, he discovers Natasha was behind the graffiti and he decides to disown her. Michael's relationship with Natasha deteriorates further, when he finds out she paid for rhinoplasty with his credit card. He also learns she sold some of his records and he tells her she sold the last thing her mother, Helena, ever gave him. Michael is also upset at the loss of a photograph, featuring his late wife, which was inside one of the records. Michael decides to send Natasha to boarding school, but he changes his mind, after Natasha nearly drowns. Michael gets his photo back and his relationship with Natasha improves. He discovers Natasha has been searching for information about her mother and he invites her to ask him questions about Helena. Natasha asks him how her mother died, and Michael lies to her. Natasha finds the photo which shows her with her parents at the beach and she asks Michael about it. He tells her they only went to the beach once and then tries to avoid the subject. Michael becomes angry with Summer when a picture of Helena ends up on a school notice board. He starts seeing visions of Helena and when he learns Natasha is trying to contact members of her mother's family, the stress leads him to see a therapist. Michael finds a birthday gift for Natasha on his doorstep and realises it is from Helena's sister, Emilia. He later spots Emilia in the street and tells her to stay away from Natasha. Emilia asks Michael why he has not told Natasha the truth about her mother's death and Michael explains Natasha would not be able to handle the truth. He becomes angry with Emilia when she turns up at his house on Natasha's birthday. However, he allows her to stay for Natasha's sake. Natasha learns her mother drowned and asks Michael for the truth. Emilia explains that Michael failed to save Helena from drowning at the beach. Natasha later realises she was in the water too and Michael confesses that he could not save the both of them. Michael's stress continues to affect his health and he starts taking some pills. Michael discovers Summer has cheated during her English exam, they argue and Michael collapses. He undergoes surgery for a perforated stomach ulcer and does not recall his argument with Summer. Natasha asks Emilia to help care for Michael. Natasha asks Michael and Emilia to go to the beach where Helena died, so they can say goodbye. Michael and Emilia then reveal they were having sex in his car, while Helena was drowning. Michael starts growing closer to Emilia and they spend time surfing together. Emilia encourages Michael to return to teaching and he quits his job as principal. Michael struggles to adjust to
Priya Kapoor's (Menik Gooneratne) changes and when he is told to write lesson plans, he throws them away. He later returns to the school with Emilia to retrieve them. They hide from Priya under a desk in a classroom. Michael later tells Emilia he likes himself when he is with her. Emilia meets Michael and reveals she cannot stop thinking about what happened between them in the classroom. Michael tells her he hoped he did not give her the wrong idea and that nothing can happen between them. Emilia visits Michael at work and she tells him what they had in the past is still there. Michael then kisses her. While supervising some repair work to a school bathroom, Michael starts to suffer flashbacks to the day he collapsed outside it. He remembers Summer cheated and confronts her, urging her to tell Priya. Emilia breaks up with Lucas and confesses her feelings for Michael. They have sex in his car and Chris finds out. Michael and Emilia then reveal to Natasha that they are together, but they agree not to tell her the truth about the day Helena died. Lucas finds out about Michael and Emilia and ends his friendship with them both. Natasha finds a note written by Emilia saying it was her fault Helena died and she confronts her and Michael. Michael explains that he and Emilia were together in The Sandman when Helena drowned. Angered by the news, Natasha takes the panel van and sets it on fire. When Michael learns Lucas is being blamed for the fire, he goes to the police station and tells them it was his fault the van caught fire. Natasha finds him there covering for her and she tells him that she wants nothing to do with him. Michael is upset when Emilia decides to leave for Serbia. Natasha tells him that if he wants to fix the problems between them, he has to leave her alone. Michael then decides to leave for Serbia with Emilia. Michael later calls Natasha to tell her the house has sold. ==Reception==