Yesterday, New South Wales State Coroner Magistrate Teresa O’Sullivan delivered her findings and recommendations from the coronial inquest into the deaths at Westfield Bondi Junction. Six people were killed and ten others injured when Joel Cauchi went on a stabbing rampage in April 2024.
Joel Cauchi’s Mental Health
The state coroner spoke about Joel Cauchi’s mental health care prior to the fatal attacks, which happened while he was “floridly psychotic” and unmedicated.
A psychiatrist who treated the Westfield Bondi attacker has been referred for review.
“I recommend that the Health Ombudsman of Queensland review Dr Andrea Boros-Lavack’s care and treatment of Mr Joel Cauchi”
Magistrate Teresa O’Sullivan also recommended a shared care guideline on chronic schizophrenia. More on these findings on the latest episode of The Briefing:
Emergency Services
The state coroner said the response from the police and ambulance was “rapid and extensive” with officers going “above and beyond”.
Earlier in the presser, Magistrate O’Sullivan had praised Inspector Amy Scott, who shot dead Joel Cauchi, saying her “heroism has been a centrepiece of this inquest”.
Westfield Security And Alerts
The state coroner addressed whether the public could have been alerted earlier:
“Based on the evidence available to me, I did not consider it was realistically possible for the public to have been informed of an active armed offender event by making a PA announcement or activating the centre management emergency override before Mr Cauchi had completed his fatal attacks,” she said.
Media Reporting
The state coroner recommends the development of an advisory guideline for the reporting of mass casualty incidents.
This guideline should “balance the need and desire for accurate, timely and informative reporting […] against the significant distress and grief” that reporting may have on those affected.
You can read the full report here.