Belfast Aquatic Centre in Port Fairy struggles with securing insurance following tragic drowning of student

Belfast Aquatic Centre – a regional Victorian pool in Port Fairy – is challenged with finding an insurer following the tragic drowning death of eight-year-old student Cooper Onyett.

Cooper Onyett drowned during a school camp in May 2021 and the Centre is facing the prospect of closing amid ongoing insurance struggles.

After a period of closure, Belfast Aquatic re-opened to the public. However, the community facility is now facing the prospect of closing, having struggled to secure ongoing insurance in the wake of the tragedy.

Moyne Shire Council, which owns the land the pool is built on but does not run the facility, has according to the ABC engaged a specialist consultant to analyse the centre's risk assessments.

Shire Chief Executive Bill Millard advised "If the committee is unsuccessful in obtaining insurance, council will work with the committee and consider what other options exist to secure the future of the facility.”

A last-minute reprieve from the centre's current insurer means it can continue operating for a month, however, the future beyond that remains unknown.

The aquatic centre's chair Anne McIlroy said the pool's management team were surprised when their insurer asked them to look elsewhere for coverage.

"We all got a shock," McIlroy told the ABC adding "the community was devastated to think it (the pool) was going to shut."

The centre's insurance claim regarding the fatality is yet to be resolved, which McIlroy concedes is part of the struggle to find ongoing cover.

Moyne Shire Council said it would continue to work closely with the Belfast Aquatics Committee in an attempt to find a solution to the insurance issues it was facing.

A Worksafe investigation into the fatality was launched soon after and has not been resolved.