A grieving mother has been barred from seeing the findings from the investigations into the death of her daughter after she was crushed by a fallen tree.
Alifia Soeryo, 22 was sitting beside the eight-tonne tree at the University of Adelaide’s soccer grounds when part of the trunk collapsed on February 5.
The tree then fell on top of the Indonesian international student and she died at the scene, despite the best efforts of paramedics who attempted to revive her.
Five months on, Novie Badilla claims that she has been denied access to the findings from a SafeWork SA investigation into her daughter’s death.
Officials from the agency found that the Adelaide Council, which looks after the public space, was not responsible for Ms Soeryo’s death.
SafeWork ruled in a report that no workplace laws were broken and deemed the incident a ‘tragic accident’.
Ms Badilla, 56, has been left devastated over the findings and is seeking legal advice in a bid to claim compensation from the council.
Alifia Soeryo, 22 (pictured) died when part of a gum tree collapsed after she stopped to catch her breath while jogging around the University of Adelaide’s soccer ground
‘I just want to know what happened, I just want people to be aware about this,’ Ms Badilla told the Adelaide Advertiser.
‘People tell me that gum trees fall, but this was not just the branches, it was the whole tree.’
Ms Badilla, who resides in Jakarta, claims she was informed by officials from SafeWork that access to the report could not be given due to legal restrictions.
She claimed that officials told her she would need to file a freedom of information request if she wanted to access the report.
The request, however, could take more than a month to process and information from the report could be redacted.
Ms Badilla believed that she has a right to see the full report and the findings as the victim’s mother.
‘The compensation is number two for me, but number one is justice,’ she said.
The report has been submitted to the coroner.
Ms Badilla has been told it would take anywhere from six to 18 months until the coroner releases the full findings into what happened.
A SafeWork SA spokesman said privacy regulations prevents the agency from revealing information contained in the report.
‘Due to confidentiality provisions, we are unable to provide further details of the investigation at this time,’ the spokesman said.
Adelaide Council is also understood to have conducted their own independent investigation.
SafeWork SA found that the Adelaide City Council, who look after the public space, was not responsible for the death of Ms Soeryo (pictured)
The mother of the international student said she wants to know what happened on the day her daughter died in the accident (pictured)
The council conducted inspections of the Adelaide parklands in June 2023, but no structural issues were detected.
A council spokesman told Daily Mail Australia they are working with authorities as investigations into the incident continue.
‘The City of Adelaide has and will continue to fully co-operate with investigating agencies. The City of Adelaide’s internal investigation and response to the incident is ongoing,’ the spokesman said.
‘The City of Adelaide continues to express its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Ms Soeryo.’
Ms Soeryo, who arrived in Adelaide to study a year ago, was completing her degree in communications at the university.
She wanted to work in the transport sector.
She was also a keen road cyclist and often shared videos of herself riding with friends on country roads on the outskirts of Adelaide.
Ms Badilla accepted her daughter’s degree at a graduation ceremony that was held at the university in May.
Daily Mail Australia contacted SafeWork SA for further comment.
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