Inquest into the death of Lily Elizabeth Aldridge
Deceased
Lily Elizabeth Aldridge
Demographics
1y, female
Date of death
2020-04-16
Finding date
2020-10-26
Cause of death
Accidental drowning
AI-generated summary
A 21-month-old girl drowned in a home swimming pool on a rural property in the Northern Territory. She was removed from her highchair by a sibling while her father was occupied with repairs, and entered the pool unsupervised. The pool gate lacked a compliant automatic locking mechanism and relied on manual barrel bolt closure. The property exceeded 1.8 hectares, exempting it from swimming pool safety compliance requirements under NT law. Supervision failure was the primary issue; the child accessed the pool within minutes while siblings were transitioning indoors. The coroner highlighted that current exemptions for large properties may inadequately address hazards posed by residential pools near dwellings, recommending legislative review of fencing requirements.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Absence of supervision for 2-5 minutes
- Non-compliant pool gate locking mechanism (manual barrel bolt, not automatic)
- Child removed from highchair by sibling and accessed pool
- Father occupied with unrelated task (fixing fan) and not monitoring child
- Inadequate property exemption from swimming pool safety compliance requirements for properties over 1.8 hectares
Coroner's recommendations
- The Northern Territory Government should give consideration to the breadth of the exemption from the fencing requirements for pools on properties over 1.8 hectares, particularly where pools are situated within metres of residential dwellings
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