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The Bradyn Dillon Case

In February 2016, nine-year-old Bradyn Dillon was killed by his father in Canberra. In the two years before that, teachers, child protection, police, a GP, and a Victorian court had seen him. At least eight agencies across the ACT and Victoria had contact with him.

This episode follows the case from the first school reports of bruising to the 2021 coronial findings. It covers how a father's lies went unchecked, how a disclosure made in Victoria never reached Canberra, how a case was closed because a frightened child "wasn't saying anything", and how one unenrolment left Bradyn off every list.

Coroner Margaret Hunter found that Graham Dillon was a "master manipulator" and the sole person responsible. She also described "sliding door moments" where the system could have taken a different path, and made 17 recommendations.

For professionals, the episode draws out six practice strands: hearing the child, cumulative harm and domestic violence, how assessments are passed on, cross-border information sharing, tracking children outside school, and workload and supervision. It ends with six reflective questions.

This episode discusses child abuse and the death of a child. Details are kept non-graphic. Content is drawn from news reporting of the inquest and findings, and the episode says where information could not be found.

Hosted by a social worker with more than fourteen years of industry experience.

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