Inquest into 3yo's death hears experts pushed for pool safety changes

The drowning death of a three-year-old boy in Palmerston last year has sparked a renewed push to change the Northern Territory's pool fencing laws along with a warning tragedies are "quick", "silent" and "can happen anywhere".

A coronial inquest in Darwin this week will examine the circumstances of Dion Robbins' death after he was found floating face down in the pool at his family's Moulden home, one month before his fourth birthday.

The court heard Dion's family had been renting the property for less than two months before the tragedy unfolded in June, 2025.

In her opening address today, counsel assisting the coroner Fiona Kepert said Dion's father told police he woke from an afternoon nap with Dion to find him missing, while his younger brother, who had been sleeping in his cot, was also gone.

"Dion's father found his son floating face down in the corner of the pool," Ms Kepert said.

"Dion's brother was inside the pool enclosure.

"He was crying and hiding behind bushes."

Ms Kepert said the boys' father had reported there was a stool tipped over near the pool gate, which was closed and latched, and their mother wanted to understand what happened the day her son died.

"She tells me she often finds herself replaying what might have happened," she said.

"She wishes she knew how Dion and his brother got out of the house, whether they climbed the fence or opened the gate, how they ended up in the pool area and how Dion ended up in the water."

Dion was described as "an adventurous and active little boy" who was "fearless and loved climbing".

'Gaps' in pool fencing laws

The court heard 597 children aged four and under had drowned in Australia since 2002 — just over half of them in swimming pools and the vast majority in backyard pools.

In the NT, emergency departments have seen more than 240 children following fatal and non-fatal drownings since 2010, with more than 180 of those incidents occurring in private pools.

The first witness to give evidence at the inquest today was Royal Life Saving NT chief executive Floss Roberts, who told the court that while drowning statistics in the NT had improved, water safety was still a major issue.

"Too many children in the NT have drowned," she said.

Ms Roberts told the court water safety education for children and parents was fundamental to preventing drowning deaths.

"There's no call for help," she said.

"It's quick, it's silent, it can happen anywhere."

Under current laws, properties of more than 1.8 hectares do not require fencing around pools or spas — an exemption Ms Roberts said should be scrapped.

She said the NT Water Safety Advisory Committee (NTWSAC) had been advocating over several years for the territory's pool safety laws to be updated.

The court heard the committee's then-chairperson, Justine Glover, wrote to former Labor infrastructure minister Joel Bowden in November, 2023, expressing concerns about gaps in the legislation and urging him to conduct a review.

In the letter, Ms Glover said "my fear is that unless the antiquated act of 2004 is not reviewed, we will have more infant pool drownings".

The court was then shown a letter from Mr Bowden in reply, saying legislative reforms were being progressed following an inquest into the drowning death of a two-year-old girl in a backyard pool in Katherine in 2022.

The committee sent a second letter to the current Country Liberal Party Minister for People, Sport and Culture, Jinson Charls, in April, 2025, requesting a meeting to discuss the issue.

Ms Roberts told the court committee members met with Mr Charls and discussed the territory's drowning rates as well as the gaps in the legislation, and the committee sent a third letter in February this year, reiterating the same concerns expressed in 2023.

Ms Roberts said the NT should implement a more stringent process for issuing pool compliance certificates, requiring more regular inspections, and adopt mandatory education for pool owners around water safety.

The inquest will continue tomorrow and is expected to hear evidence about the adequacy of the pool fence and gate at the time of Dion's death, as well as issues regarding the NT's safety compliance rules.