Private school fined after 16yo student dies on trip to Vietnam

A Melbourne private school has been fined $140,000 after 16-year-old student Lachlan Cook suffered fatal diabetes complications while on a school trip to Vietnam.

A private school in Melbourne has copped a $140,000 fine after a 16-year-old boy suffered fatal diabetes complications while on a school trip to Vietnam in 2019.

Kilvington Grammar School student, Lachlan Cook, was on a school trip to Vietnam in September 2019 when he began complaining of stomach pains, low energy, sore ribs, fast breath and vomiting.

Prior to the trip, World Challenge Expeditions Pty Ltd – an experiential school expedition company – had been given two medical clearances.

The student, who was a type 1 diabetic, was experiencing symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) approximately two weeks into the trip.

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

Lachlan was taken to a local hospital 24 hours after first reporting symptoms, presenting with high blood sugar, stomach pain and vomiting.

He stopped breathing and suffered a cardiac arrest and was transferred to a hospital in Bangkok.

He was transferred to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, where he was declared brain dead and had his life support switched off on October 4, 2019.

An autopsy confirmed the cause of death was DKA, which can be treated if detected early, but life-threatening if left too late.

Kirsten McMahon, mother of schoolboy Lachlan Cook, speaks to the media outside the Coroners Court of Victoria, with her family. Picture: Newswire / Liam Beatty

Following the boy’s death, WorkSafe Victoria found the expedition leader of World Challenge Expeditions contacted the operations centre but failed to initially disclose Lachlan’s diabetes diagnosis, which “delayed a critical response”.

The investigation found the boy’s school had a diabetes management and action plan in place for him, which provided guidance for treating hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) and hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar).

However, neither of these were taken on the trip, which could have helped identify Lachlan’s early symptoms of DKA.

The investigation found if Kilvington had provided at least one of the teachers on the trip with additional training and guidance about type 1 diabetes and required the teachers to take the diabetes management plan with them on the trip, the risk of illness would have been reduced.

WorkSafe also found “World Challenge did not provide any specific advice or additional training to assist with the expedition leader’s knowledge of diabetes”.

Teenager Lachlan Cook died in 2019 after he became ill on a school trip in Vietnam. Picture: Supplied via NewsWire

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

Kilvington Grammar was fined $140,000 and World Tour Expeditions was fined $150,000.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said Lachlan’s death was a tragedy that did not need to happen.

Working with children – especially children with health conditions – comes with extremely serious responsibilities,” he said.

“Frustratingly, both the school and the trip provider knew Lachlan was diabetic and yet didn’t take steps to reduce the risk of illness or death by properly supporting their staff in identifying potentially serious health complications.”

Originally published as Private school fined after 16yo student dies on trip to Vietnam