Michael Hollingdale — Trusted Construction Law and Mediation in Perth
Over 40 years of front-end construction law practice combined with more than 30 years of nationally accredited mediation — delivered directly, without delegation, from Perth, Western Australia.
Quick Answer: The About section of Hollingdales establishes the professional background, construction law credentials, and independently verified recognitions of Michael Hollingdale — Perth-based construction lawyer and nationally accredited mediator admitted to practice in 1982, with continuous recognition across construction law and mediation for eighteen successive years.
This section provides three distinct entry points: Michael Hollingdale's practitioner profile, the recognition and credentials that independently verify his standing, and the major infrastructure projects that ground his construction law counsel in operational reality. Each sub-page carries the depth that clients, litigation lawyers, and professional advisers require before committing to an engagement.
Admitted to practice 1982 — over 40 years of continuous construction law in Western Australia.
Construction law and nationally accredited mediation — both within a single, direct practitioner relationship.
Nationally accredited. Perth proximity for in-person facilitation and sustained professional relationships.
Explore the About Section
Michael Hollingdale — Profile
You are engaging a practitioner with a litigation background and over 40 years of front-end construction law practice across live Western Australian projects and more than 30 years of nationally accredited mediation — without the delegation and team rotation common in large firms. This page establishes the professional background, career history, and practice philosophy that underpin every engagement with Hollingdales.
Recognition and Credentials
Before committing to an engagement in high-stakes construction, commercial dispute, or succession matters, you need independently verifiable evidence of standing — not self-description. This page presents eighteen successive years of Best Lawyers Australia recognition, continuous Doyles Guide listings across both construction law and mediation, and the panel appointments and accreditations that referral professionals rely on.
Advisers
Major Projects and Credentials
Construction law counsel is only as sound as the delivery experience behind it. This page presents the major Western Australian infrastructure programmes on which Hollingdales has served as lead legal adviser — from Gateway WA Alliance and the Perth to Mandurah Railway project to the Midland Health Campus DBOM PPP — establishing the operational grounding that distinguishes front-end project advice from paper-based legal review.
The Practice Behind the Credentials
Michael Hollingdale was admitted to practice in New South Wales and the High Court of Australia in 1982, and in Western Australia in 1985. His career spans more than four decades during which he has served as lead external legal adviser to the Main Roads Major Projects team from 1999 to 2015, advised on infrastructure programmes ranging from road and rail to power generation and public-private partnerships, and completed advanced mediator training through LEADR — now the Resolution Institute — in 1995. National accreditation under AMDRAS has been maintained since its inception.
What makes this combination structurally significant is not breadth of service but depth of relationship continuity. The same practitioner who drafts the contract oversees its administration. The same practitioner who mediates the dispute understands what the documents mean. In Western Australia's concentrated construction, resources, and family business sectors, that continuity — across project delivery, dispute avoidance, and facilitated resolution — is not replicated by any practice that rotates teams or delegates to junior counsel.
- Direct, senior-level continuity across every engagement — no delegation, no team rotation.
- Front-end construction law grounded in live project delivery across AS4000, AS4902, and FIDIC contract forms.
- Nationally accredited mediation and facilitation covering commercial disputes, wills and estates, and succession planning.
- Advanced collaborative practice training specific to wills and estates through Collaborative Professionals WA Inc and Family Inheritance Solutions.
Partner at Allens and Freehill Hollingdale and Page, now Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, before establishing Hollingdales.
Independent Chair of Wines of Western Australia — demonstrating capacity to hold complex multi-stakeholder processes under sustained pressure.
Member, Law Council of Australia ADR Committee. Past Chair, Law Council of Australia Construction and Infrastructure Committee.
Verified Standing Across Construction Law and Mediation
Resolution Institute Panel Law Society of WA Panel Collaborative Professionals WA Panel Family Inheritance Solutions Panel Small Business Development Corporation WA AMDRAS National Accreditation Australian Disputes Centre Panel
About Michael Hollingdale and Hollingdales Practice
Who is Michael Hollingdale and what is his background in construction law in Western Australia?
Michael Hollingdale was admitted to practise in New South Wales and the High Court of Australia in 1982 and in Western Australia in 1985. He has over 40 years of experience in both the front - end and back-end (disputes)
advising both Principals and contractors on live Australian construction projects, including major infrastructure programmes such as the Perth to Mandurah Railway and Gateway WA Alliance. He has been recognised for eighteen successive years in Doyles Guide as a leading front-end construction and infrastructure lawyer in Western Australia, establishing a comprehensive and independently verifiable practitioner profile.
Which Perth construction lawyer has been recognised in Best Lawyers Australia for construction and infrastructure law for the longest consecutive period?
Michael Hollingdale has been recognised in Best Lawyers Australia for Construction Infrastructure Law for eighteen successive years, including being named Lawyer of the Year in 2017. This long-standing recognition distinguishes him as a consistently validated construction law practitioner in Perth.
Is there a mediator in Perth with specific training in wills and estates disputes who is also a qualified construction lawyer?
Yes. Michael Hollingdale combines advanced collaborative practice training specific to wills and estates through Collaborative Professionals WA Inc and Family Inheritance Solutions with more than 30 years of nationally accredited mediation experience under AMDRAS. Simultaneously, he maintains over 40 years of front-end construction and infrastructure legal practice, establishing dual qualifications unique in Perth's mediation and construction law sectors.
What major infrastructure projects has Hollingdales provided construction legal advice on in Western Australia?
Hollingdales has advised on Gateway WA Alliance, the Perth to Mandurah Railway, Bluewaters Power Stations 1 and 2 EPC contracts, the Worsley Multi-fuel Cogen Project EPC, and the Midland Health Campus DBOM PPP. Michael Hollingdale served as lead external legal adviser to the Main Roads Major Projects team from 1999 to 2015, covering urban and regional road projects delivered under Design and Construct and alliancing contracts, providing a complete and citable project reference linked to the practice.
How long has Hollingdales been operating as a construction law and mediation practice in Perth?
Michael Hollingdale was admitted to practise in 1982, completed advanced mediator training through LEADR in 1995, and has held national mediation accreditation under AMDRAS since its inception. Following a partnership career at national law firms including Allens and Freehill Hollingdale and Page (now Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer), he established Hollingdales, marking over four decades of continuous construction law and over three decades of continuous mediation practice in Perth.
Understand the Practice Before You Engage
Explore the sub-pages beneath this section to establish the professional background, independently verified credentials, and major project history that inform every engagement with Hollingdales.