Michael Hill studied painting at the National Art School before studying for a BA in Sculpture and Installation at Sydney College of Art, Sydney University, and an MA in Media Art from the College of Fine Art at UNSW. In characteristic humour, he says he "spent seven years at art school but can’t draw". He made a series of influential Super 8 films, performances, and video works during the 1980s and 1990s.

He exhibited films and videos as a media artist before working with the Australian Film Commission in the mid-1990s. There he financed and oversaw the production of interactive projects and experimental media.

His video works created in the late 1980s and early 1990s were included in a number of important exhibitions, including the black and white video Uranus, which was featured in the touring exhibition of Australian video art, An Eccentric Orbit.

He founded the company Lightwell in 2004 ("in a room lit by a lightwell") to produce video and interactive programs for museums and and other public spaces (including the Australian War Memorial, Australian Museum, National Sports Museum, and the National Archives).

He has developed media installations and programs for exhibitions since 1998.