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· collected 2026-09-05 · by Chantelle Al-Khouri and Pablo Viñales
They were young, zealous and believed they could transform the NSW Liberal Party.
uncertain
they → believe → Party
They called themselves the Reformers: a network of operatives and lobbyists united by their faith and a desire to push the party further to the right.
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They → call → right
"We had wild dreams …
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We → have → dreams
We were 20-something-year-old guys dreaming big," its co-founder Robert Assaf said.
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Assaf → dream → ?
The group set about recruiting like-minded conservatives, getting them into Liberal branches, and building numbers to shape the party's internal politics.
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group → set → politics
Years later, that campaign would land them at the centre of one of the state's biggest corruption probes in years.
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campaign → land → years
For weeks, the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has been examining allegations involving unlawful political donations, branch stacking and "sham" arrangements to channel money into politics.
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Commission → examine → politics
So, how did these NSW Liberal Party shadow players come under the spotlight?
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players → come → spotlight
The Reformers' network reached into some of the most influential circles in NSW conservative politics.
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network → reach → politics
It emerged officially in 2018, founded by lobbyists Christian Ellis and Mr Assaf — two figures central to the ICAC inquiry.
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It → emerge → inquiry
Among those involved were Charles and Jean-Claude Perrottet, brothers of the former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet.
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Perrottet → involve → premier
Dominic Perrottet has not been accused of any wrongdoing and referred the allegations to ICAC in 2022.
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Perrottet → accuse → 2022
Former Liberal staffer Dylan Whitelaw also became involved with the Reformers while working at Catholic Schools NSW.
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Whitelaw → become → NSW
Lobbyist Jeremy Greenwood was closely connected to the group's founders but was "at pains" to insist he was not a member during his testimony to ICAC.
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he → connect → ICAC
'The truth will set you free'
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truth → set → you
For some of the Reformers' key figures, their connections stretched back decades.
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connections → stretch → figures
Mr Assaf, Mr Greenwood and the Perrottet brothers all attended Redfield College in Sydney's Hills district, a Catholic boys' school with a strong conservative tradition.
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Assaf → attend → tradition
During ICAC's public hearings, counsel assisting the commission at times pointed out that link throughout her questioning.
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counsel → assist → questioning
The school is linked with Opus Dei, a controversial organisation within the Catholic Church, and is among a few independent schools in Sydney managed by the Pared Foundation.
Former student Tim Pocock, an actor who wrote a book about his experience growing up gay in a conservative Catholic family and attending the college, said the "extreme conservatism" of Opus Dei and Redfield College felt "inescapable".
"There is a belief they [Opus Dei] are the most Catholics of all Catholics," Mr Pocock said.
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Pocock → link → Catholics
Mr Pocock said he was not surprised to hear some alumni from his alma mater were intent on stacking the NSW Liberal Party with conservatives.
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alumni → say → conservatives
"When it came to conservative politics, there was always a dissatisfaction with conservative leaders as not being conservative enough," he said.
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he → come → leaders
"They would have never had any of their beliefs to be checked by the world or people outside of their bubble.
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any → have → bubble
"They're doing God's work: so, the ends justify the means."
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ends → do → means
Mr Pocock, whose uncle is Liberal MP Damien Tudehope who stood aside from the opposition frontbench ahead of an appearance at ICAC last month, graduated in 2003 and said the Perrottet family were regarded as "royalty of the schooling life there".
"It was almost sort of like a conservative Catholic mafia of families that kind of were the hierarchy of these schools and the Perrottets were definitely one of those," Mr Pocock said.
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Pocock → stand → those
Mr Tudehope has not been accused of wrongdoing by ICAC.
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Tudehope → accuse → ICAC
Another ex-student, Eamon McCaughan, believed some of his former peers have never challenged some of the church's more conservative teachings.
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some → believe → teachings
Mr McCaughan attended in the 2000s and said he was "horrendously picked on" while also coming to terms with his own sexuality.
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he → attend → sexuality
"The school was suffocating for me.
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school → suffocate → me
I had no outlet to be myself because the only outlet we were given was becoming good strong Christian men," Mr McCaughan said.
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McCaughan → have → outlet
"All of this really tied into being good Catholics and making good Catholic men."
In a statement, Redfield College said it was "obviously disappointed" to have its name mentioned in the context of the ICAC investigation.
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name → tie → investigation
"While several former students of Redfield are persons of interest … their alleged actions are not matters for the school.
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actions → allege → school
Nor do they reflect the values of the school,"it said.
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they → reflect → school,"it
"We are sorry to hear that any former student feels that their experience at Redfield was negative.
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experience → hear → Redfield
It is not an experience we recognise as representative of the school or its culture."
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we → recognise → school
Mr Pocock was struck by some of the allegations emerging from the ICAC investigation.
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Pocock → strike → investigation
"It does seem like there are some tactics that are a bit devious and dishonest that are being used and I wonder how that fits in with the Catholic values of honesty," he said.
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he → seem → honesty
The Redfield College motto is "Veritas Liberabit Vos"; "The truth will set you free" in Latin.
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truth → set → Latin
'Taking back our nation'
With that "truth" ideal, the Reformers made their own mission statement: to take "back our nation through good government".
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Reformers → take → government
"A call to action to all Christians whose way of life has increasingly become under threat.
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way → become → threat
To do that they set out to recruit 5,000 Christian conservatives and take control of the NSW division of the party.
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they → do → party
…and 31 more, not listed.