Mark Leibler was appointed to Council on 1 April 2017. He is the Senior Partner at Arnold Bloch Leibler and head of the firm’s renowned taxation practice. Mark is National Chairman of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council and Governor of the Australia/Israel Chamber of Commerce, and also serves on international bodies, including the World Board of Trustees and Executive of Keren Hayesod/United lsrael Appeal, the Board of Governors and Executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University.
Mark joined Arnold Bloch Leibler in 1966, after graduating with first-class honours from the University of Melbourne’s Law School, where he shared the Supreme Court Prize as the year’s top law graduate. He went on to study at Yale University Law School, graduating in 1968 with a LLM with honours.
Mark is considered one of Australia’s leading tax lawyers and corporate strategists, highly regarded also for his commitment to social justice and reconciliation. He was a founding member of the board of Reconciliation Australia and served as Co-Chair for six years from 2005. He co-chaired both the Expert Panel and the Referendum Council on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians that culminated in May 2017 with the release of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
In December 2014, Mark was awarded the University of Melbourne’s highest individual honour, the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa, in recognition of his contribution to the Australian and international community, particularly in the areas of support for Indigenous rights, service to the Jewish community and excellence in law. Mark’s service to the nation was recognised in 2005 with his appointment as a Companion of the Order of Australia, in recognition of his service to business, to the law, particularly in the areas of taxation and commercial law, to the Jewish community internationally and in Australia, and to reconciliation and the promotion of understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.