Le Grand takes over from former AFL Sydney umpires' boss Simon Harrison, who is taking a hiatus after two years at the helm travelling from his Bendigo base.

Harrison leaves the BFUA in good shape - the association has one of the strongest member bases in the state - and with good established pathways for young umpires.

Le Grand's aim is to build on this.

"The challenge for me really now, is to build foundations to improve consistent decision making across the group. For example, a coach in Rokewood can how a free kick is paid will have the same interpretation to a game for Ballarat or East Point - and that is not an easy task, considering we've got so many umpires," Le Grand said.

"I'm confident in the structures we've got in place with my support coaches and video technology available.

"...The best umpires are the ones you don't notice and do that consistently."

Le Grand has about 560 senior games to his name, including 10 senior grand finals - five in the Ballarat Football League.

He has experience in the TAC Cup under-18s and Victorian Football League and was BFUA chairman but stepped back from the game the past three years to spend more time with his young family.

Le Grand said the timing was right to take up coaching now his children were a little older.

Coaching is a passion Le Grand has been interested in awhile now and he started to think seriously about the past six months while completing his coaching accreditation.

Harrison's departure opened a chance to take up that role with the BFUA.

Le Grand said there was plenty of promising talent in BFUA ranks with about five working with the AFL Victoria umpiring academy, which could only help improve football standard across the region.

For the seasoned umpires, Le Grand hoped to make sure the BFUA remained an enjoyable way to stay in the game.

Le Grand has been a member of the AFL Goldfields commission and will step down from this role at this month's annual meeting.