Dolan was raised in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire and started playing football at an elite level aged 13. She played for the Sydney clubs of St George Budapest, Marconi Stallions, Gymea Bay, Ballina, Sutherland, Grange Thistle and Arncliffe Scots. She participated in Australian teams that contested the first Asian Cup in 1975 and the inaugural Women’s World Invitational in Chinese Taipei in 1978.

Between 1979 and 1988 Dolan played in eighteen full internationals. She was Australian captain on six occasions and made a total of thirty-four appearances for the Matildas.

She played in the World Invitational Tournament in Oceania in 1983 and the pilot Women’s World Cup in China in 1988. She played in the Australian team that defeated Brazil 1-0 in their first encounter in 1988.

In 1988, the Australian Women’s Soccer Association created the Julie Dolan Medal in her honour, awarded to the Player of the Year in the Women’s National Soccer League, and subsequently in the W-League. She was inducted into the Football Federation Australia Hall of Fame in 1999 and received the Queen Elizabeth II Australian Sports Medal.

In 2013, Dolan was named in Football Federation Australia’s 1979-89 Team of the Decade as the team’s captain. She also had the honour of being presented with Cap Number 1 for the Westfield Matildas, in recognition of her being the first captain in the team’s first A-International. was named International Federation of Football History and Statistics Oceania Player of the Century.

In 2016, football became the first major Australian sport to jointly name its prestigious awards event in honour of both a legendary female and male player – the Dolan Warren Awards – with Dolan honoured alongside national men’s icon Johnny Warren.