Realm conducts discreet examinations of integrity, behaviours and probity — concluding in a signed attestation from a named principal, on which boards, chief executives, acquirers, financiers and government can rely.
It is axiomatic that boards, chief executives, investors, regulators or other key stakeholders receive assurance that is not compromised by pre-existing relationships such as audit, tax, legal or commercial conflict.
Without it, the risks are high.
Government has restricted or terminated engagements; parliamentary inquiries have laid conflicts bare; and directors and chief executives have suffered under direct scrutiny of the independence of their own advisers.
Realm has the capability, experience and expertise to guide companies and government through the assurance maze.
Realm can provide independent integrity assurance to boards, chief executives, investors, government and other key stakeholders.
Transactions fail on what wasn't found, not what was disclosed. Realm conducts discreet, board-commissioned examination of ethical issues within acquisition targets. That is, covering behaviours, culture and probity exposure beyond the reach of conventional financial and legal due diligence.
Inquiries are run by principals with Commonwealth investigative experience to evidentiary standards, without disrupting the transaction. Findings go directly to the commissioning principals, bypassing intermediate channels.
Realm’s work is not confined to companies. Ministers and departmental secretaries face integrity and probity questions that call for a view from outside the bureaucracy: a conflict between private interest and public duty, the fairness of a procurement, the propriety of a decision or appointment, or conduct that internal review cannot credibly assess on its own.
This is not legal advice. Where a Minister or secretary needs a legal opinion, AGS or a panel firm is the natural source. But where the need is an independent view on the propriety of a course of action, or a commissioned report that carries weight because it comes from outside the bureaucracy, that is the work Realm does.
Fluent English does not mean fluent Australian. The cultural signals that shape dealings with regulators and Australian counterparties are easily missed by those who assume a shared language means a shared playbook.
Realm makes sure its clients don't miss the signals and understand the zeitgeist.
Realm's work concludes with a signed attestation from a named principal. That is, we do not provide a caveated report from an anonymous team. The report details what was examined, what was found, and the basis on which findings can be relied upon. Commissioning authorities receive an instrument they can put before key stakeholders such as credit committees, insurers, co-investors, government or politicians.
The principals' names and records of career achievements are the assurance.
Realm assesses future proofing and crisis protocols. Governance frameworks are rarely tested until the day they fail. Realm assesses board rules, delegations, stakeholder relations and crisis protocols against the real scenarios its principals have investigated and adjudicated. This includes corruption findings, regulatory intervention, probity assurance and reputational collapse.
“The advisory’s only asset is the reliability of its word — and everything in its structure exists to protect it.”
Realm carries no audit practice, no tax practice, and no contingent alignment with any outcome in a transaction.
Its fee falls due whether findings are favourable or adverse, and whether or not the deal completes.
Every engagement is conducted at principal level, to standards set and reviewed by the Realm board.
Realm practises no law and gives no legal advice. It is designed to operate alongside the legal profession. Where legal professional privilege arises, Realm works to preserve it within an appropriate legal framework; in every case, its investigations, controls testing and attestations supply the factual foundation on which legal advice can rest.
Realm executes a non-solicitation deed with every referring practice. It does not approach or act for the clients of the firms that bring it work outside the referred matter.
This discipline is permanent and absolute — and it is the reason referring firms can introduce Realm to their most valuable relationships.
Every member holds an absolute right of veto over any engagement, client or attestation they judge unworthy of Realm’s name.
Over 40 years’ experience in defence and in criminal and administrative law. Former Integrity Commissioner and Agency Head of the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, with oversight of the Australian Border Force — including Customs and Immigration — the Federal Police, the Crime Commission, Agriculture, CrimTrac and AUSTRAC. Former Director of Military Prosecutions, Crime Commission Examiner, and Foreign Attorney Consultant in Guantanamo Bay and Washington DC. Active service in Somalia and Iraq, and operational service with Malaysian, US, UK and other defence forces across several theatres. A senior member of several Commonwealth and NSW merits review tribunals, and Assistant Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force.
Counsel of more than 30 years’ standing in public and administrative law, retained by Commonwealth and state government agencies. Former Counsel Assisting the Australian Commissioner for Law Enforcement Integrity, with deep expertise in royal commissions, commissions of inquiry, boards of inquiry and administrative inquiries. Co-author of LexisNexis’ Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime in Australia. A former Judge Advocate and Defence Force magistrate, and an Assistant Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force, with operational service in Iraq, and a current member of the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal. Jonathan brings the disciplines of independent inquiry and the confidence of the Defence and integrity establishment.
Rear Admiral Allan du Toit is a highly distinguished retired naval officer with a career spanning over four decades across multiple continents. During his naval career, he held significant leadership roles at sea and ashore including command of HMAS Tobruk during peacekeeping operations in Bougainville, commander of multi-national forces in the Persian Gulf and command of operations to secure Australia’s maritime borders. Ashore, he served in a wide range of single-service and joint senior leadership appointments, most recently as Australia’s Military Representative to NATO in Brussels.
In his civilian capacity, he is currently chair of James Fisher Defence (JFD) Australia, a director of BlueForge Alliance Australia, a member of the AMDA Foundation board with responsibility as convenor of the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition and a member of the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal. Dr du Toit is also actively engaged in academia as a visiting fellow and senior adjunct lecturer at UNSW Canberra and serves on several advisory boards, bringing an impressive blend of operational expertise, strategic oversight, and corporate governance to his many roles.
Major General Kelly is an experienced senior executive with a record of achievement in some of the world’s most complex and challenging environments. He served for 36 years in the Australian Army and commanded at every level including senior roles as Commander 3rd Brigade, Commander 1st Division, Land Commander Australia, and Commander Joint Task Force 633, with operational service in Zimbabwe/Rhodesia, East Timor, and the Middle East Area of Operations including Iraq and Afghanistan.
After leaving the Army in 2010, Major General Kelly served on the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission as the Repatriation Commissioner, overseeing the statutory administration of veterans’ compensation and rehabilitation and driving reforms to veterans’ mental health and counselling services. He is currently a member of the Veterans’ Review Board, and the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal.
Major General Kelly brings to Realm direct experience of high-consequence decision-making, statutory governance and the integrity of process under scrutiny — the perspective at the centre of Realm’s work with Defence primes and government.
A corporate and public affairs adviser with more than 30 years advising at C-suite level, including in the defence and security sectors, on government relations, complex policy reform, and crisis and issues management. Her experience spans fraud, corruption and parliamentary inquiries — the very terrain on which Realm’s clients are judged. As Chair of The Sydney Institute, she brings great insight into the political, bureaucratic and regulatory imperatives that shape policy development. She is well versed in protecting reputations under public and regulatory scrutiny, and has a standing network across government, media and the boardroom.