Fines issued over student death
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A Melbourne school and travel company have been fined $290,000 over the preventable death of a diabetic student.
Kilvington Grammar School Ltd and World Challenge Expeditions Pty Ltd have been sentenced in the Melbourne County Court after pleading guilty to failing to ensure the safety of non-employees.
Kilvington Grammar was fined $140,000, and World Challenge received a $150,000 penalty.
On a 2019 school trip to Vietnam, the 16-year-old student, who had type 1 diabetes, showed signs of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), including persistent vomiting, extreme thirst, abdominal pain, rapid breathing, sore ribs, and fatigue.
Despite being aware of his condition, supervising staff - two teachers from Kilvington and a World Challenge expedition leader - lacked training to recognise the severity of his symptoms.
The expedition leader contacted World Challenge’s operations centre but did not disclose the student’s diabetes, delaying urgent medical intervention.
By the next day, his condition had deteriorated.
After being hospitalised, he went into cardiac arrest and was later declared brain dead at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.
An autopsy confirmed DKA as the cause of death.
WorkSafe found Kilvington Grammar had diabetes management plans that were not taken on the trip. Their absence delayed diagnosis.
The school also failed to assign a designated staff member to support the student, breaching its own trip policies.
World Challenge did not provide adequate diabetes-related training to its expedition leader and advised that pre-existing conditions need not be disclosed during medical consultations, further delaying critical care.
“This tragedy need not have happened,” said WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkin.
“Both the school and trip provider knew [the student] was diabetic yet failed to support staff in identifying serious health risks.”
