The character's early storylines revolved around her finding her place within her family, her parents' separation, and her part in a fire at the local high school.

Writers have put several obstacles in the couple's way, including Tyler's casual relationship with Piper's half-sister Paige Smith (Olympia Valance).

Other storylines have seen Piper bullied by her English teacher Elly Conway (Jodi Anasta), and have a one-night stand with her friend Angus Beaumont-Hannay (Jai Waetford).

[1] Executive producer Jason Herbison explained that Piper's introduction was held back for when her on-screen parents needed "a second chapter", should her siblings leave the show.

[1] Of joining the permanent cast, Hazel commented "It's a great feeling to be rewarded with the role of Piper after years of hard work, especially when I fell in love with the character after my first audition.

[4] She told Anthony Graetz of CLIQUE Mag that she wanted to be with Neighbours for a few years, but had plans to relocate to Los Angeles or the UK for further acting work.

[5] Hazel enjoyed playing a character with a rebellious personality, but pointed out that for all of Piper's maturity and intelligence, she "doesn't have a filter when it comes to her actions.

"[7] Ahead of her first appearance in the main show, the character was featured in a series of webisodes titled Hey Piper, which see her talking to various family members via online video calls.

[11] The third and fourth episodes feature Piper's father, Brad Willis (Kip Gamblin) informing her that he has separated from her mother and has begun a relationship with Lauren Carpenter (Kate Kendall).

[6] While she continued to settle in, Piper began receiving text messages from her former boyfriend Brodie "Chas" Chaswick (Matt Testro).

Hazel explained that Piper ended the relationship shortly before coming home to Australia, but Chas believed the distance was not a problem for them, so they stayed in touch.

During a charity sleep out at Erinsborough High, Piper encourages her new friend Ben to light a piece of paper on fire and set off the sprinkler system.

[16] As Piper prepares to return to her classes for the first time since the fire, she is nervous about the reaction of the other students, leading her to confide in neighbour Tyler Brennan (Travis Burns), who gives her reassurance that she will probably be seen as a hero.

[20] Speaking to an Inside Soap columnist, Hazel explained that deep down Piper knows Brad and Terese will not support her relationship with Tyler.

"[20] While Tyler believes that they have Brad and Terese's approval, he and Piper begin quietly dating and they plan to consummate their relationship on the night of the school formal.

[7] The pairing of Piper and Tyler proved popular with viewers, and Hazel appreciated the support for their romance, as it made filming with Burns more exciting.

[7][23] On the night of the school formal, Piper's parents learn she is planning on losing her virginity to Tyler and Terese bans them from attending the dance together.

[27] Hazel told Daniel Falconer from FemaleFirst that Piper tries to explain to other adults that she is feeling bullied by her teacher, who has been purposely marking her work down and insulting her.

[26] When Piper discovers Tyler is having a casual relationship with Paige, she gets revenge by playing footage of them having sex in the garage at Brad and Terese's divorce party.

[27] In October 2016, a trailer showing Piper growing closer to friend and neighbour Angus Beaumont-Hannay (Jai Waetford) was released, leading to speculation that they would have sex.

[30] Piper meets Angus and they share "a night of reckless teenage fun", where they admit that they might have been better off as a couple, instead of getting their hearts broken by Tyler and Elly respectively.

[30] On 22 February 2019, Jess Lee of Digital Spy reported that Hazel could be leaving Neighbours, after noticing that she was no longer posting photos of the set to her social media accounts.

Comments from her co-stars Elmaloglou, who stated that she misses Hazel, and Takaya Honda also appeared to confirm that the actress had left the cast.

Piper learns Tyler is casual dating Paige and she gets revenge on them by showing their sex tape at her parents' divorce party.

They eventually return to Erinsborough and briefly stay at Robinson's Motel, before Leo Tanaka (Tim Kano) invites them to move into his backpackers' hostel.

Piper discovers Imogen is representing Finn Kelly, an attempted mass murderer, and confronts her in front of her family, which leads to an argument between them in the street.

[35] She was also nominated in the "Best Soap Actor (Female)" category at the 2018 Digital Spy Reader Awards; she came in eighth place with 5.2% of the total votes.

[36] Carena Crawford of All About Soap noted, "it doesn't take Piper long to create shock waves when she comes to Erinsborough!

[40] He wrote that as the show had delayed the character's introduction for so long, there was potential for her to be "a disappointment", but Kilkelly stated that Hazel's performance "had been a real breath of fresh air and she proved her worth early on with Piper's heartbreaking reaction to Josh's death.

[23] Following the character's exit in 2019, Maddison Hockey of TV Week stated: "Smart, witty and unafraid to stand out from the crowd, Piper was best known for her turbulent relationship with Tyler Brennan (Travis Burns).