The families of the four people killed in the 2016 Dreamworld tragedy have been invited to speak when Coroner James McDougall hands down his findings in a Brisbane court on Monday morning.
It will be three years, three months and 30 days since Cindy Low, Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi climbed into a raft on the popular Thunder River Rapids ride at the Gold Coast theme park.
Their raft was nearing the end of the ride when it struck another raft that was stuck at the base of a conveyor.
The collision caused the raft containing the victims to flip up, throwing them into the conveyor.
The date was October 25, 2016, and the repercussions were not only devasting for the victims' families and friends, but for those who witnessed the tragedy and the theme park's staff and owners.
While the front entrance of the Coomera theme park became a makeshift memorial for a grieving public, the Queensland Government announced a statewide audit of all rides and attractions.
Dreamworld shut its doors for more than six weeks while police investigated the industrial accident on the 30-year-old ride, which never reopened and has since been decommissioned.
The park operators called in ride experts and reviewed all their safety procedures, but when the doors reopened on December 10, 2016, the crowds did not return in the same numbers.
On the first day of the inquest on June 18, 2018, the victims' families heard a young park employee Courtney Williams had only been trained on the ride that morning and she did not know, that as the tragedy unfolded, there was an emergency stop button with her reach.
It was during the first weeks of the inquest in a Southport court that Dreamworld employees outlined evidence that they were ordered to cut back on repairs and maintenance spending, while another witness said the Thunder River Rapids ride should not have been in service when it malfunctioned.
The inquest examined the circumstances and cause of the fatal incident, which included the Thunder River Rapids ride and its construction, maintenance and safety measures.
Mr McDougall has also considered the regulatory environment and the standards by which amusement park rides operate and whether changes need to be made to ensure a similar incident does not happen in the future.
Inquest delays
After 31 sitting days, the inquest finished hearing evidence on December 7, 2018.
Final submissions from the involved parties were due to be submitted in March 2019, but due to delays within the Coroner's office the submissions were delivered six months later in August 2019.
Mr McDougall is not permitted to make findings of guilt, but he can make recommendations which may include referring Ardent Leisure (Dreamworld's owner) to the Work Place Health and Safety regulator for prosecution.
The findings are due to be handed down at 10:00am on Monday.
