Jones' appointment comes at a time when the league has decided to revamp its tribunal system by adopting set penalties for offences, as is the case in the National Rugby League, while the decision on whether or not a player is guilty of an offence will no longer be made by the tribunal chairman but by a three-man jury.
The appointment of Jones as the new tribunal chairman comes after he has just been appointed as the State Government watchdog over the Victoria Police which will involve investigating any allegations of corruption.
Jones was a County Court judge from 1986-2002 and was also Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal from 1980-86 and president of the Law Institute of Victoria from 1977-1978.
Collis, who has been AFL Tribunal chairman since 1998, was instrumental in recommending Jones for the job after deciding to step down from his position.
"Brian spoke to me about whether I would be interested in taking on the job now that it has changed in character," Jones said on Wednesday.
"In the NRL the chairman is a sitting district court judge and once you move to a jury system it is helpful to have someone chairing the proceedings who has experienced working with juries and instructing juries."
Jones said he sought permission from Victorian Premier Steve Bracks to take on the job as AFL Tribunal chairman after having already been appointed by the State Government as its police watchdog.
"I asked the Premier and the Attorney-General (Rob Hulls) whether they had any problems with me taking on the AFL role and they said there were comfortable with me taking on this role as well as my other job.
"And there will be no worries with me having the time (to do both jobs) because I have retired from the County Court."
The AFL's next step in its reforming of the tribunal system is to appoint its new jury members with football operations manager Adrian Anderson saying on Wednesday they will mostly consist of former players.
Anderson said five jurors would be appointed with three to sit on in any one case with a majority verdict sufficient to find a player guilty of an offence.
The AFL also announced on Wednesday that former Carlton player Andrew McKay and ex-umpire Peter Carey had been appointed to the Match Review Panel - to be chaired by former Hawthorn coach Peter Schwab - which will lay reports next season.
McKay played 244 games for Carlton between 1993 and 2003, including the 1995 premiership, and won the best and fairest in his farewell season while Carey umpired 307 games during his career, including the 1989, 1992, 1993 and 1995 grand finals.
