Hillcrest jumping castle legal battles to continue

Farid Farid and Ethan James | June 7, 2025

Preparations for a coronial inquest and a class action lawsuit relating to the Hillcrest jumping castle tragedy will ramp up, despite the operator being found not guilty of criminal wrongdoing.

Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt died after the incident at Tasmania’s Hillcrest Primary School in December 2021 when a wind gust lifted the castle into the air.

Three other children were seriously injured in the accident.

Rosemary Gamble, owner of Taz-Zorb, which set up the equipment, was found not guilty on Friday of failing to comply with a workplace health and safety duty.

Standing alongside families of the victims after the verdict, Maurice Blackburn lawyer Dimi Ioannou said work on a class action filed against the state and Taz-Zorb would continue.

The legal firm in December launched the action on behalf of lead plaintiffs Georgina Burt, the mother of Zane Mellor, and Andrew Dodt, the father of Peter Dodt.

Close family members of children who were injured or died as well as witnesses are among those eligible to join the action.

“People need to be held accountable. Six children’s lives were gone as well as other children seriously injured,” Ms Ioannou told reporters outside Devonport Magistrates Court.

She said the firm would seek compensation for “pain and suffering sustained” from the fatal incident.

“But no amount of money can bring back the child,” she said.

The lawyer said she would help the families as preparation for a public inquest resumes after it was put on hold when Ms Gamble was charged.

Ms Gamble had pleaded not guilty to the charge, which alleged she exposed the children to a risk of death or serious injury.

She faced a 10-day hearing in November.

Magistrate Robert Webster ruled on Friday that the incident occurred because of an unprecedented “dust devil” that was impossible to predict.

Outside court, Ms Burt said the legal decision was a crushing blow.

“There’s a profound gap between what we know to be true and between what the system is willing to recognise,” she said, choking back tears.

“This outcome does not reflect the weight of our loss nor the reality we live with every single day.”

She called on Premier Jeremy Rockliff to “take a hard look” at the functioning of the justice system in Tasmania.

“If this was your child, would you accept this as justice?” Ms Burt said.