More tests for future security guards to work in Westfield Bondi CCTV room, inquest told

Australia Broadcast Center

26-05-2025

Security guards who want to work in the CCTV control room at Westfield Bondi Junction will now have to pass a more rigorous suitability assessment, the coronial inquest has heard.
On April 13, 2024, Joel Cauchi was fatally shot after killing six and injuring 10 people with a knife during a rampage at the shopping centre in Sydney's east.
At the exact minute Cauchi stabbed his first victim, the sole security guard in the Westfield control room left for the bathroom, leaving the CCTV screens not monitored.
The female security guard, referred to as CR1, has not given evidence during the hearing.
The NSW Coroners Court previously heard a need for CR1 to have further training was identified prior to the attack, and an independent security expert criticised her for not having the "skill set" for the role.
The court previously heard that Westfield procedure now dictates there must be an operator in the control room at all times.
Steve Iloski is the chief executive of Glad Group — the subcontractor which Westfield's parent company Scentre uses to recruit security staff.
He agreed on Monday there was a "lost opportunity" to immediately start reviewing CCTV due to the room being unoccupied, which impacted the timeliness of the response.
In response to last April's incident, the court heard that Glad Group had rolled out new training, including pressure tests to see how prospective staff responded under stress.
Mr Iloski said the selection process for the CCTV control room had been strengthened to assess how "suitable" the employees were in emergency situations.
Individuals must now have worked on site for three months minimum, undertake a "comprehensive" questionnaire and pass a simulated environmental situation to "evoke emotions or evoke stress and see how they respond".
The court heard that it was difficult to attract and maintain security staff after the stabbing but the team has been "settled since August".
Issues with recruiting CCTV control room operators towards the end of 2023 and into early 2024 had also been now resolved, Mr Iloski said.
"[The guards are] very competent with the new training and enhancements and we'll continued to improve and get better."
He acknowledged that some, including CR1, had not returned and "remain unfit to do so" but that the company was supporting them financially.
"We're trying everything in our power to ensure those individuals get back on their feet," he said.
"Glad Group lost one of our people, Faraz Tahir. I want to recognise his family and the dignity and compassion they have shown through this process."
He said that while the incident was "once in a lifetime" it "changed our world".
"The team did the best they could," he said, later acknowledging that some of the testimony had been "hard" for staff to hear.
"Scrutiny is an important part of this inquest … this inquest is about learning."