It was 10.30pm and the Christmas party mood was festive when about 37 Tupperware staff and family members gathered on a Doncaster East backyard balcony for a group photo.

The expansive timber balcony, at a property rented by Chris and Yvonne Nunn, contained everything the guests needed: a large fridge full of drinks and food, a barbecue, pizza oven, trestle table, Eskies full of ice and outdoor chairs.

But as the group was at the end closest to the house, a large crack was heard and a section of the second-floor decking, measuring about six by three metres, gave way, and party-goers fell. Some fell more than two metres onto a paved area below.

Twenty-eight people fell and of those, Cheryl Taylor and Sarah Kajoba suffered fatal injuries on that day, December 16, 2017. Ms Taylor, 59, of Croydon, died at the scene, and Ms Kajoba, 37, of Reservoir, died in hospital the next day.