By Ethan James in Hobart

AN inquest into the deaths of six children in a primary school jumping castle tragedy in Tasmania is unable to begin because the state’s workplace safety regulator won’t hand over “crucial” material.

Zane Mellor, Peter Dodt, Jalailah Janyne-Marie Jones, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Chace Harrison were killed following the incident at Hillcrest Primary School on December 16, 2021.

They were enjoying celebrations on the final day of term when a wind gust lifted the castle and several inflatable Zorb balls into the air.

An administrative inquest hearing on Tuesday was told WorkSafe Tasmania had refused to pass on its investigation, including expert reports, because it could prejudice the regulator’s ongoing investigations.

Lawyer representing WorkSafe Tasmania, Sam Thompson, indicated the regulator is pursuing the possibility of criminal charges and had asked the director of public prosecutor for advice.

Coroner Olivia McTaggart adjourned the inquest indefinitely, saying it was unable to progress without the documents, which include engineer and geotechnical reports.

“Unfortunately, WorkSafe have chosen to take action to at this stage prevent disclosure of crucial material that I need to progress the inquest,” she said. “My obligation is to obtain all relevant information.”

A hearing in the Supreme Court of Tasmania about whether the documents can be provided to the coroner will likely occur in April.

Mr Thompson said the inquest delay was “regrettable” but the integrity of WorkSafe Tasmania investigations and possible prosecutions had to be protected.

Three children suffered serious injuries in the incident, which was described at an earlier pre-inquest hearing as a “mini-tornado” wind event.