Scandal-tainted casino giant Star ignored multiple internal warnings to fix a glaring safety gap on the Sky Deck of Australia’s newest casino before a young casino worker used it to take her own life.
Leaked internal documents reveal that a year before the tragic June 2026 incident and then in repeated messages throughout 2025, Star and the consortium that owns Brisbane’s Queen’s Wharf precinct failed to act on the urging of multiple senior staff to rectify the safety vulnerability.
The fresh leak comes after internal recordings and documents aired on Saturday and Monday by this masthead exposed serious concerns about the adequacy of compliance and problem gambling systems at Star.
On Monday, the ASX-listed operator posted a $307 million loss for the year ending June 30. Gaming revenue – the money made from inside the casinos – fell more than 5 per cent to $756.2 million as its auditors expressed significant doubts about the group’s survival prospects.
Star has struggled to make money from its casinos since 2022, when two state government inquiries found a litany of compliance failures. The reviews led to a cleanout of management as well as new regulations that limit cash spending and require detailed checks on customers. Its financial position has been strained for years, a situation that will be made worse by an impending fine from the financial crimes watchdog for historical misconduct.
Star’s Sydney licence is suspended and has been overseen for almost four years by independent administrator, Nick Weeks. Its licences to operate the Gold Coast and Brisbane casinos are not suspended but are also under Weeks’ oversight. A decision on whether Star is able to operate its own licences is due in September.
NSW casino regulator Philip Crawford said on Monday he had ordered a fresh inquiry into the weekend revelations as he weighs the decision to hand Star back its licence.
A spokesman for Queensland’s Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation said the regulator had also sought “urgent advice” from Weeks following the investigation’s publication.
The latest documents show Star ignored repeated warnings from managers throughout 2025 to fix a major and obvious safety flaw at its flagship Brisbane complex. The concerns were driven by the fear it could be used by people wanting to take their lives – a known risk at any casino given the psychological impact of gambling.
A first written warning was sent by a senior Star manager in Brisbane in May 2025. It warned the handrail balustrade on the 100-metre high Sky Deck was an obvious safety risk because it could be easily used to climb through a gap in a safety glass partition on the 23rd floor.
He was so worried about the safety gap, he sent his email again in July 2025, describing “the major” concern being “the handrail along with the gap between the glass panels”.
This was almost 12 months before a 24-year-old Filipino hospitality worker, working as a demi chef in Star Brisbane’s room service division, used the handrail to take her own life.
Last September, eight months before the Star employee’s death, Star manager Jon Kruk again raised the safety gap in an email to senior colleagues.
This email attached a report entitled “risk of falls (wilful acts)” and it urged Star Brisbane “to see what if any modifications can be carried out to reduce the risk of people being able to scale the external balustrades in all areas (eg removing handrails)” .
The report specifically identified the handrail weak spot, urging Star to “review the balustrade” and “remove gaps, variance in balustrade heights and curved handrail”.
In October, fresh reports were again circulated urging the safety gap to be fixed urgently and to secure support from the Destination Brisbane Consortium to fund the works required.
Queen’s Wharf casino and entertainment complex is owned and operated by DBC, a group initially made up of Hong Kong-based businesses Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, as well as Star. The DBC has been controlled by Far East and Chow Tai Fook since April, when Star sold its 50 per cent stake to alleviate financial pressure.
“It was agreed that DBC would obtain approval from the DBC board prior to the removal of the handrail,” the October email states. “We are hopeful that this board approval will be issued no later than next Monday to allow the works to proceed.”
Another report, dated October 14, revealed that a technical specialist had been engaged by DBC to provide an independent review of several items relating to the Sky Deck glass viewing area and balustrade facade at Queen’s Wharf.
One item within this list has required urgent attention – “the climbability of the Sky Deck balustrade”.
This document again highlighted that Star was aware that the problems in the design of its Brisbane building were placing people at risk.
“Recent and unfortunate incidents have highlighted the potential for some facade elements to be misused as scalable hand and foot holds – in particular the Sky Deck balustrade handrail.”
According to documents, weeks after the employee’s death, the issue had still not been remedied.
DBC had hired security before setting up a temporary hoarding solution weeks after the employee’s death but a permanent fix has not been implemented.
Star did not respond to questions about the suicide or the design warnings.
A Coroners Court of Queensland spokesman said its investigation into the death of the worker was open and ongoing.
Nick McKenzie is an Age investigative journalist who has three times been named the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year. A winner of 20 Walkley Awards, including the Gold Walkley, he investigates politics, business, foreign affairs and criminal justice.Connect via email.
Zoe Samios is a reporter at The Australian Financial Review and a former reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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