***Trigger warning:
This episode contains discussions of child sexual abuse, grooming, trauma, sexualised behaviour toward minors, and suicide. It may be distressing for some listeners. Please take care while listening.

In this episode of Badge of Betrayal, we speak with Tasmania’s Independent Regulator, Louise Coe, about a serious gap in the state’s child safety oversight system.

The Office of the Independent Regulator was created to oversee organisations that work with children and young people, including how they respond to allegations of reportable conduct. But in August 2025, Tasmania Police told the regulator they had received legal advice that they were not captured by the scheme meaning they stopped providing key information, including the identities of police officers involved in reportable conduct matters.

For eight months, that gap remained.

Louise explains why independent oversight matters, why the reporting scheme exists, and why police interactions with vulnerable young people require close scrutiny. She also discusses the importance of backdating the law to cover the period where reporting stopped, and why culture change inside institutions is just as important as technical compliance.

Later in the episode, we share part of an anonymous email from another victim of Paul Reynolds.  The email includes graphic and deeply distressing details of alleged grooming, emotional manipulation and sexual abuse, and shows how hearing this podcast has helped some people reframe what happened to them.

If you have information that you would like to share, email us anonymously at [email protected]

If this episode is triggering, please pause and seek support. 

• Lifeline: 13 11 14 — https://www.lifeline.org.au

• Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 — https://kidshelpline.com.au

• 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732 — https://www.1800respect.org.au

 

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