In a committal hearing last week, St Basil's Home for the Aged in Fawkner, 12km north of the Melbourne CBD, was ordered to stand trail on charges relating to nine Occupational Health and Safety Act offences.
In a 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, 45 St Basil's residents died due to a COVID-19 outbreak and five died of neglect. The Daniel Andrews-led Victorian Government made the dramatic decision to stand down all staff during the crisis.
WorkSafe Victoria alleges that St Basil's Home for the Aged failed to require staff to wear personal protective equipment (PPE), train staff how to safely put on and take off PPE, verify staff were competent in using PPE, inform staff when PPE should be used, or supervised the use of PPE.
St Basil's Home for the Aged pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Konstantin Kontis, the former Chair of the Board of St Basil's Home for the Aged, and Vesna Kos, former Director of Nursing, sought to avoid giving evidence at the inquiry but their case was dismissed.
The trail will begin with a Directions Hearing in the Melbourne County Court on 16 April 2024.
A coronial inquiry is on hold until the outcome of the WorkSafe prosecution is finalised.
