Grade 2 student Cooper Onyett drowned on May 21, 2021, at Belfast Aquatics at Port Fairy in Victoria's southwest while on a trip organised by the Warrnambool-based Merrivale Primary School.
Both the department, which was fined $100,000, and Port Fairy Community Pool Management, which was fined $80,000, had pleaded guilty to breaches of duty.
The school had sent parents permission slips and medical forms before the trip but failed to pass them onto the pool before sending 28 students to the facility.
Cooper's mother had ticked a box confirming he was a beginner swimmer with little or no experience in shallow water.
Handing down her sentence in Warrnambool County Court, Judge Claire Quin said Belfast Aquatics' status as a charity dependent on volunteers and fundraising contributed to the lower fine.
"The department is not in that position," Judge Quin told the court.
"This was ... a serious breach relating to the safety of young school-aged children engaging in an activity arranged by the school with obvious inherent risks."
The department has altered its policies since the incident, with schools now required to assess a student's swimming abilities before any water activity.
Many in the courtroom wiped away tears and Judge Quin's voice quivered as she read a victim impact statement from Cooper's mother Skye Meinen.Â
"I don't think you can truly ever comprehend what it feels like for your heart to be shattered into a million pieces until it happens," Ms Meinen wrote.
"It is an absolute gross understatement to say that the day I got the call from the school regarding the absolute atrocity that took place on that final day of school camp broke my heart."
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