Parents of the children killed in the Hillcrest Primary School jumping castle accident in Tasmania are calling for a time restriction on pressing charges over the tragedy to be waived.
Students were celebrating the end of the year on December 16 in 2021, when a jumping castle and several inflatable Zorb balls at the school in Devonport were lifted into the air by a strong wind gust.
Addison Stewart, Zane Mellor, Jye Sheehan, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Peter Dodt and Chace Harrison died, while others were seriously injured.
Watch the latest news and stream for free on 7plus >>
The families are staring down a December deadline for legal action to be brought because under Tasmania’s workplace safety laws, prosecutions can only be brought within two years of an incident.
Preparations for an inquest into the children’s deaths were put on hold in February.
The inquest was told WorkSafe Tasmania refused to hand over documents to the coroner because doing so could prejudice the regulator’s own investigation and potential prosecutions.
With less than three months left to pursue legal action, one parent told 7NEWS.com.au that the process of getting justice for their child has been “horrific in every sense of the word”.
The incident left many people with trauma, they said, extending to parents, teachers, children, first responders, hospital staff, support staff and the state as a whole.
“The two-year limit should be formally waived,” the parent said.
While they do not wish proceedings to interfere with each other, action was required, they said.
Legal action launched by WorkSafe Tasmania to prevent the coroner from obtaining the documents was heard in the Supreme Court of Tasmania in July.
The court was told the documents included an engineer’s report, and statements of three TaZorb employees and two Department of Education staff.
WorkSafe Tasmania’s lawyer, Michael O’Farrell SC, said releasing the documents could compromise potential prosecutions and further investigations.
He indicated the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had a WorkSafe Tasmania report and was still considering whether to prosecute.
“The matter remains under investigation and that is an important element of our claim in this case,” O’Farrell said.
He said granting the coroner access to the documents could lead to a scenario where the DPP could say there was insufficient permissible evidence to be able to prosecute.
The coroner’s investigation has finished, and witnesses have given statements.
-With AAP
If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your .
To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide.