Kilvington Grammar School and World Challenge have been convicted and received fines of $140,000 and $150,000 respectively, for their part in the death of a student entrusted to their care.
16-year-old Lachlan McMahon Cook was a Kilvington Grammar student with type-1 diabetes who died from chronic complications while on a September 2019 school excursion to Vietnam organised by World Challenge.
In 2023 a coroner found that Lachlan’s death was preventable and WorkSafe issued charges against Kilvington Grammar and World Challenge under s.23 “Duties of employers to other persons” of the OHS Act.
The coroner found that a string of assumptions and complacency on the part of both organisations contributed to the boy’s death. WorkSafe’s own investigations found the school had management and action plans for Lachlan’s diabetes, but these were not taken on the trip to Vietnam. School policy for excursions requiring the student to be assigned a teacher-buddy were not followed and teachers received no additional training or information on diabetes management.
World Challenge did not provide its expedition leader with any specific advice or training on Lachlan’s condition, despite it being disclosed to them.
The Court has found that it was reasonably practicable for both organisations to reduce the risk of illness and death by providing additional training and instructions. Both Kilvington Grammar and World Challenge were aware that Lachlan was a type-1 diabetic yet neither took steps to reduce the risk by properly supporting their staff in identifying potentially serious health complications.
Read more: Melbourne school fined for death of 16yo student Lachlan Cook on overseas trip - ABC News
