Allan du Toit has written and lectured on historical and contemporary defence, naval, and maritime affairs, both in Australia and abroad, and is currently a part-time doctoral student in naval history at the UNSW Canberra, where he is a Visiting Fellow, Adjunct Lecturer, and member of the Naval Studies Group at the Australian Centre for the Study of Armed Conflict and Society (ACSACS).

He transferred to the active reserve as a Rear Admiral in early 2016 after 40 years combined full-time service in two Commonwealth navies. He entered the South African Navy in 1975 and joined the Royal Australian Navy in early 1987. As a Warfare Officer at sea, he served in mine counter measures vessels, submarines, frigates, destroyers, and amphibious ships, commanding at each rank from Lieutenant to Rear Admiral. As a Rear Admiral he commanded the multi-agency Border Protection Command and Joint Task Force 639 from 2008–10. As a Commodore, he commanded Combined Task Force 158 in the North Arabian Gulf in 2007–8.