Students Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt died after the incident in Tasmania’s northwest on December 16, 2021.
The children, aged between 11 and 12, were enjoying end-of-year celebrations on the oval of Hillcrest Primary School when a wind gust lifted the castle and several inflatable balls in the air.
Rosemary Gamble, the operator of Taz-Zorb which set up the equipment, was in June 2025 found not guilty of criminal workplace health and safety breaches.
An inquest, which had been put on hold due to the criminal proceedings, held a further preparatory hearing on Friday.
Dates for the start of the inquest have yet to be set, with either a September or November opening on the cards.
Andy Chen, sales manager at Chinese company East Inflatables which supplied the castle to Ms Gamble, told the hearing the issue wasn’t the product but the operation.
The castle had been produced to Australian standards even though it was up to distributors to apply the standards, he said on video link via an interpreter.
It came with a label clearly indicating it shouldn’t be used in winds of more than 32km/h, he said.
“I feel very sad for what happened but I don’t understand why I was involved in this long investigation,” he said.
“I am just some company who sells products.”
The inquest’s scope includes an examination of the role of East Inflatables and Tasmania’s education department, the application of safety standards and weather monitoring.
A proposed September 21 start for the inquest was opposed by the parents of Chace Harrison because they will be interstate with their daughter at national basketball championships and unable to attend in person.
The Harrison family’s lawyer Peter Hamilton said the families of other victims he represents were okay with a November start.
“The families have been waiting several years,” Mr Hamilton said.
“To rush it on at this moment, given the difficulty with the Harrisons, shouldn’t be the appropriate course.”
The inquest is likely to hear evidence in blocks spanning months.
Preparations have faced several hurdles, including a legal stoush between the coroner and Tasmania’s workplace regulator over access to documents.
In the criminal proceedings, it was found Ms Gamble could have taken further steps in relation to the castle’s anchorage, but even if she had, it would have made no difference to the outcome.
It was ruled the “dust devil” wind event was impossible to predict.
Mr Chen gave evidence at the criminal hearing, saying he couldn’t recall exactly how many pegs were supplied with Mr Gamble’s castle purchase.
The inquest will hold another administrative hearing on August 28.
AAP
