Ian Gray is the current Chief Magistrate of the Magistrates' Court of Victoria

Magistrates' Court of Victoria

The Magistrates' Court of Victoria is the lowest court in the Victorian court system, with the County Court of Victoria and the Supreme Court of Victoria respectively judicially higher...

. He completed a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 and a Bachelor of Laws

Bachelor of Laws

The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...

 at Monash University

Monash University

Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....

, graduating in 1973. He initially practised as a private solicitor, before beginning work as a community lawyer in a Community Legal Service and at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. Following this, he began practice as a barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

, specialising in criminal law.

In 1990, Gray was appointed a magistrate in the Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

. By 1992, he was Chief Magistrate of the Northern Territory. In 1998, he returned to the Victorian bar, specialising in criminal, administrative and employment law. In March 2001, he was appointed Chief Magistrate of the Magistrates' Court of Victoria

Magistrates' Court of Victoria

The Magistrates' Court of Victoria is the lowest court in the Victorian court system, with the County Court of Victoria and the Supreme Court of Victoria respectively judicially higher...

, where he leads over 100 magistrates, covering 52 locations across the State of Victoria.

Reforms as Chief Magistrate

Since Gray's appointment, a number of major reforms have been made at the Magistrates' Court. The establishment of innovative new specialist courts, such as the Drug Court, the Family Violence Court and the Koori Court, are a few examples of the type of change which Gray has overseen.