The driver was released from hospital and was assisting police with their inquiries.
Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Lineham, of the major collision investigation unit, said he and his colleagues had not yet determined the cause of the crash.
“We’ll assess the driver’s competency to drive in the first place,” Lineham said. “We’ll look at everything from fatigue and whether there was drugs and alcohol or any other factor beforehand, or medical conditions.
“We will look at the condition of the bus, so that will be a full mechanical assessment done on the bus, and we also look at the corner itself.”
Lineham described the distressing scenes at the crash site.
“This scene was a very confronting when emergency services first arrived here,” he said.
“Any life lost on the road is one life too many, and it is particularly confronting and challenging when there’s children involved.
“For the first members on the scene to come across a bus with one child deceased and multiple children injured is incredibly confronting.”
The school’s executive principal, Mathilda Joubert, told parents by email on Wednesday afternoon that the school community was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy.
“Tragically, a student on board that bus has lost their life,” Joubert said in the email.
“Several other students were injured and are receiving treatment. This matter is now a Victoria Police investigation.
“Our community is deeply saddened by this news and our thoughts and prayers are with the student’s family at this incredibly difficult time.
“The impact of this loss will be felt across our entire Christian College community, and we offer our heartfelt sympathy to all impacted by this incident.”
The principal said children at the school had not been officially informed about the tragedy by college authorities.
“Students have not been informed about the incident as we respect parents and carers may wish to speak to their children first,” Joubert wrote.
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Premier Jacinta Allan joined other state and federal politicians in offering her condolences late on Wednesday to the school community and the family of the deceased girl.
The premier extended her “deepest sympathies to the family, the loved ones, the friends, the schoolmates of the girl who was so tragically killed earlier today”.
“I’d also like to convey my sympathy to the broader school community, who’d be feeling not just the loss of their schoolmate and their friend, but also to the other students, many other students, who were injured as a result of this accident, and … my thoughts are with the bus driver as well,” Allan said.
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