Commonwealth charges Defence Department over 2017 death of Private Jason Challis near Darwin

THE Defence Department has been charged over the ‘shambolic’ training exercise that led to the death of Private Jason Challis at the Mt Bundey Training Area outside Darwin in 2017

The defence department has been charged over the death of Private Jason Challis. Picture: Alison Wynd

THE Defence Department has been charged over the “shambolic” training exercise that led to the death of Geelong soldier Private Jason Challis at the Mt Bundey Training Area outside Darwin in 2017.

Commonwealth workplace safety regulator Comcare announced on Thursday that the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions had charged Defence with three workplace safety offences, almost three years to the day since Pte Challis’s death.

The charges were filed in Darwin Local Court and each carries a maximum penalty of $1.5 million.

Pte Challis was shot in the knee and head during a live fire exercise, “Exercise Tigers Run” at the training area south of Darwin on May 10, 2017, and an inquest into his death last year found Pte Challis’s superiors failed to ensure proper procedure was followed during the exercise.

Pte Challis strayed from his platoon mates behind a mock-plywood hut, an area that should have been marked “off-limits”.

He was crouched behind a target when his fellow soldiers opened fire, and the platoon had not been walked through the range, gone through a “dry run”, or performed the exercise with blanks, as required by defence protocol.

Pte Challis’s stepfather, Mirko Brandich told Nine News on Thursday night he wanted to see individuals held to account, not just a government department.

“They’re going to get a slap on the wrist,” he said.

He said even if Defence was fined, it would amount to little more than moving money from one government department to another.

Originally published as Commonwealth charges Defence Department over 2017 death of Private Jason Challis near Darwin