Former St Basil's aged care managers finally testify at inquest into 50 Covid deaths
After multiple failed attempts to avoid testifying, the former leaders of St Basil's aged care home appeared at a Melbourne coronial inquest into the 2020 outbreak that killed 50 residents.
A Melbourne coroner's court heard emotional testimony this week as families finally confronted the two most senior figures responsible for St Basil's aged care home, where almost a quarter of its 188 residents died from Covid-19 or neglect during an outbreak in July and August 2020. Former board chair Konstantin Kontis and former director of nursing Vicky Kos were compelled to testify after failed legal attempts to avoid giving evidence, appearing on the sixth anniversary of the tragedy.
Kontis told the court that the board of St Basil's, which operates under the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, never formally approved the home's Covid-19 management policy, though he believed as chair he had authority to approve it alone. Under questioning he accepted this was not the case. The court heard the policy lacked clear guidance on close contacts and was never properly updated — instead, printed government directives were simply added to a yellow folder for staff to consult.
Questions over leadership failures
Kontis was pressed on why he did not call board meetings after testing on 15 July 2020 revealed 28 positive cases, and why he skipped key meetings once it was clear the entire workforce would need to be stood down. He said he disagreed with a directive to replace staff with agency workers, doubting their competence, and that he communicated directly with the archbishop instead of convening the board. He also could not explain why he never called a risk and audit committee meeting during the outbreak.
Kos testified that most original staff spoke English as a second language and lacked computers, so critical Covid information was shared via simple signage and shift handovers. She admitted she did not complete a required step of notifying the federal health department within 30 minutes of the first staff case, a delay the inquest previously identified as a root cause of the outbreak's severity.
Both witnesses initially refused to testify and only did so after being granted immunity certificates by the coroner. Kos repeatedly said she could not remember details. Spiros Vasilakis, whose mother died in the outbreak, has attended every day of the inquest and said families have not forgotten what happened. The inquest continues, with Kontis's evidence set to resume on 16 November.
