A grieving mother from Victoria has recounted the devastating moment her four-year-old daughter managed to slip through a broken boundary fence and drowned in a neighbour's swimming pool in less than four minutes.
A Tragedy Days Before Christmas
Rhiannon Egan-Lee, from Morwell, lost her daughter Ivy in December 2024, just before the Christmas holidays. The little girl died after pulling away a loose paling from the fence that separated her family's yard from the pool area next door. Her mother was only metres away in the kitchen at the time.
'Ivy was amazing. She was happiness. She was always happy,' Rhiannon told the Daily Mail. 'She loved animals, she loved baking, she loved everything about life. She just lit up the room.' The family had moved into their home in March 2024.
Certified but Unsafe: A Fatal Flaw
Rhiannon explained there had been ongoing discussions between her real estate agent and the previous neighbour about problems with the shared boundary fence. In Victoria, law requires all pool fences and barriers to be inspected by a registered surveyor every four years.
Disturbingly, the fence in question had been recently certified, with both families assured it was compliant and safe. 'The fencing was certified for four years,' Rhiannon stated. 'It was certified in February. This happened in December. Apparently everything was "dandy"... but the fence is decades old.' She pointed out a critical flaw: the fence only protected the house with the pool, not the neighbouring property. It is not suggested the neighbour was at fault.
Less Than Four Minutes
On the day of the incident, Ivy was beside her mother in the kitchen. 'I was making a coffee. She was literally next to me,' Rhiannon recalled. 'Then my niece came running in saying [Ivy] was in the pool.'
In the brief time it took to brew a coffee, Ivy had pulled off the loose paling, slipped through the gap, removed her dress, and jumped into the pool. Rhiannon frantically pulled more of the fencing down – which came away easily – and rescued her daughter, immediately beginning CPR.
Ivy was airlifted to the Royal Children's Hospital and placed in a coma on life support. Doctors tried a cooling treatment for 96 hours, longer than the standard 72. 'She was doing really well while she was cooled,' her mother said. 'But when they took her off, the damage was too much.' Ivy died on December 17 after 11 days in intensive care.
'All of this happened in under four minutes. Less than four minutes from being at my side, to being in the water, to me pulling her out,' Rhiannon said.
Campaigning for 'Ivy's Law'
Rhiannon is now fighting for 'Ivy's Law' – a proposed overhaul of Australian pool safety regulations. Her key demands include:
- Mandatory four-sided, fully isolated pool fencing, even when a boundary fence exists.
- Greater accountability for pool inspectors, whose certifications currently last four years with minimal follow-up.
- Stricter enforcement by local councils, who she says rarely conduct checks after initial certification.
'If a pool is certified for four years, it should be safe for the full four years,' she asserted, highlighting that loopholes in the rules are costing children's lives. 'I thought pool laws were tough. I thought this was impossible. But when you look at the statistics - it's not being enforced.'
The latest MagnaLatch Pool Safety Report reveals a concerning drop in vigilance, with 70% of pool owners admitting they hadn't checked their pool gate in the past six months. Rhiannon describes these figures as 'terrifying'.
She urges all parents to take proactive steps: 'Pull the palings. Look at the nails. Check it every month. If there's a pool next door and it's not four-sided and isolated - report it.'
As summer approaches, Rhiannon hopes sharing Ivy's story will prevent similar heartbreak. 'Please check your yard. Check your fence. Check your neighbour's yard,' she pleads. 'I know it feels unnatural to look over your neighbour's fence - but please, normalise it.'
The family's grief remains profound, but they are resolved to use their experience to protect other children. 'We still live here, in the same house,' Rhiannon said quietly. 'They played in that backyard every day. I never thought this could happen.'
