Murray Baird

Advisory Council

Murray Baird is an Australian Legal Practitioner and Advisor in the law, governance and regulation of charities. He was the inaugural Assistant Commissioner General Counsel at the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) from its inception in 2012 until 2019. In this role he was responsible for Registration, Compliance, Legal and Policy functions of the national regulator.  He regularly gives evidence on charity law and regulation to government enquiries and participates as a speaker in national and international conferences on charity law, governance, and regulation.

Prior to appointment to the ACNC, Murray was Chair of an Australian law firm and led the not-for-profit law and governance team at that firm for 30 years. In that time, he was engaged in several leading cases defining the law of charity in Australia.

Murray also serves as a:

  • Member Governance Committee of the Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand
  • Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia
  • Senior Fellow of the Melbourne University Law School
  • Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors where he was on the steering committee for the development of the AICD Not for Profit Governance Principles 2019
  • Member of the Law Council of Australia Legal Practice Section, Not-for-Profit Legal Practice and Charities Committee