Kilvington Grammar School and World Challenge Expeditions fined nearly $300,000 over Lachlan Cook’s death in Vietnam

A Melbourne private school and an international tour company have been fined a total of nearly $300,000 over a 16-year-old student’s death during a Vietnam trip.

Lachlan Cook, 16, who was a Type 1 diabetic, died on a school trip to Vietnam in 2019. Picture: Facebook

A Melbourne school and an international tour company have been fined a combined $290,000 over the death of a teenage diabetic student on an overseas trip more than five years ago.

Kilvington Grammar School, based in Ormond, and UK-based World Challenge Expeditions Pty Ltd were sentenced at County Court on Wednesday over the death of 16-year-old Lachlan Cook, who suffered a medical episode on a Year 10 trip to Vietnam in September 2019.

Lachlan’s father and sister observed the proceedings online.

The court heard World Challenge got two medical clearance forms for Lachlan prior to the trip, telling Kilvington it had looked after the medical aspects of the trip.

Kilvington, while having diabetes policies in place for school camps, did not extend those policies to the Vietnam trip, and did not bring Lachlan’s medical “action plan” on the journey.

Lachlan’s mother Kirsten McMahon, speaking outside the Coroners Court of Victoria in 2023. Picture: NCA Newswire / Nicki Connolly

Lachlan developed complications with his type 1 diabetes, and at one point, the expedition leader got in touch with World Challenge’s operations centre about his condition.

She was told by an employee who did not know about Lachlan’s diabetes to give him Hydralyte, which contains glucose.

It was only afterwards she messaged the centre: “I just want to check nothing of what I’m doing changes due to his diabetes.”

Her message was not seen for four hours, and the employee’s reply advising about dehydration in diabetics came through when the leader herself was asleep.

The operations centre worker then marked the situation as “urgent”.

Lachlan was taken to hospital after he became unresponsive one morning.

He stopped breathing, and was soon transferred to Bangkok, where family members stayed by his side for days as he lay unconscious.

Kilvington Grammar and World Challenge faced the County Court in Melbourne for sentencing. Picture: File

After being flown to Melbourne, doctors confirmed he was brain dead, and Lachlan’s life support was turned off on October 4, 2019 at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

A WorkSafe investigation and coronial inquest followed.

Kilvington Grammar and World Tour Expeditions pleaded guilty in December 2024 to failing to ensure non-employees were not exposed to health and safety risks.

Judge Angela Ellis said her sentence could “in no way be a measure of the worth of Lachlan Cook’s life”.

She said World Challenge, while having some medical procedures, was aware Lachlan had diabetes, but “did not provide information, instruction, and training to expedition leaders” about type 1 diabetes specifically, as well as its warning signs.

There was, Judge Ellis said, a “disregard” for risk amid a “series of delays” and a “lack of communication” between the expedition leader and the World Challenge operations centre.

She fined Kilvington Grammar $140,000 and World Challenge $150,000, granting a stay on payment for three months.

Both parties were convicted.

It was not suggested the omissions of the school or tour company directly caused Lachlan’s death.

Kilvington Grammar and World Challenge have since introduced new medical procedures and policies.