About Forge Valley Consulting
Forge Valley Consulting is a specialist Defence industry advisory practice based in Perth, Western Australia. We work with SMEs, corporates, and boards to help them navigate the Australian Defence market with clarity and confidence.
We are not a large firm with a general consulting practice that happens to cover Defence. We are specialists — focused entirely on the Australian Defence market, and on the specific challenge of helping organisations build a genuine, sustainable position within it.
Our clients come to us at different stages. Some are approaching Defence for the first time, with strong capability and no idea where to begin. Some are established players who need sharper intelligence and better pipeline discipline. Some are boards that want an independent voice with real sector knowledge. What they have in common is that they are serious about what they are building.
We work alongside those clients as a trusted partner — not as an occasional adviser who delivers a report and moves on.
"The Australian Defence market is not difficult to understand. It is difficult to understand quickly. We help our clients compress that learning curve and avoid the mistakes that slow most new entrants down."
— Duncan Anderson, Director
DIRECTOR AND PRINCIPAL PROFILE
Duncan Anderson GAICD
20+
years senior leadership
15
years full time Army
700
staff led in public sector
Duncan Anderson brings more than 25+ years of leadership experience across the Australian Army, the Western Australian public sector, and private industry. His background is non-traditional in the advisory space: he has operated at senior levels in three distinct environments — military, government, and commerce — and understands how each of them makes decisions.
Duncan served for 15 years as a full-time officer in the Australian Army, including operational deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He commanded troops in complex environments, managed significant institutional relationships, and developed the kind of judgement that only comes from sustained accountability under pressure. He continues to serve as a Reserve officer and held the role of Commanding Officer of the WA University Regiment.
Following his full time Army career, Duncan moved into senior public sector leadership as Managing Director of South West Institute of Technology and South Regional TAFE, operating within the WA Senior Executive Service. He held full accountability for an organisation spanning more than 700 staff, 196,000 square kilometres, and between 10,000 and 12,000 students — leading whole-of-organisation restructures and navigating the full complexity of a large public institution.
Duncan is an AICD-qualified director and currently serves as State President and Chair of RSL Western Australia and as a Board Director of RSL Australia. These roles give him active governance responsibility for one of Australia's most significant veteran-serving organisations and keep him closely connected to the veteran and Defence community across the country.
As a serving Reserve officer and Director, Duncan maintains clear and deliberate separation between his advisory work and his Defence and RSL responsibilities. He operates within appropriate probity boundaries on every engagement, and that discipline is non-negotiable.
Over two decades in Defence, government and industry, Duncan has built a network of relationships he draws on for every client, helping them open doors and connect with the right people faster than they could alone.
At a glance
Experience and standing
Current roles
Principal, Forge Valley Consulting
State President and Chair, RSL Western Australia
Board Director, RSL Australia
Reserve Officer, Australian Army
Prior roles
Managing Director, South West Institute of Technology / South Regional TAFE (WA SES)
Commanding Officer, WA University Regiment
15 years full time service, Australian Army
Deployments
Iraq and Afghanistan
Qualifications
AICD Graduate Member (GAICD)
Security clearance
Holds Appropriate Security Clearances
CLIENTS
Our clients include Centurion and NRW Civil and Mining. We work with a small number of clients at any one time, which means every engagement receives the full attention it deserves. We are selective about who we work with — because the relationships that matter in this market are built on trust, and trust takes time.
Perth, Western Australia
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