There are various types of assault charges. Assault charges are serious and the degree of seriousness will depend on the particular offence of assault. The different types of assault charges are:

Common Assault

Common assault is an act that causes another person to apprehend immediate and unlawful violence. If you are charged with common assault, it means that you have assaulted another person but have not caused an injury amounting to bodily harm or grievous bodily harm.

Section 61 of the Crimes Act 1900 states that whosoever assaults any person, although not occasioning actual bodily harm, shall be liable to imprisonment for two years.

In order to be found guilty of common assault the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that:

• You applied force to another person or threats with immediate violence was made to another person; examples are touching or striking.
• You did not have consent of the person who was assaulted.
• The act was done either intentionally or recklessly.
• There is no lawful excuse for your actions.

If any of these elements cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt, then you will be found not guilty.

What are my options?

You may choose to plead guilty or not guilty.

Pleading Guilty

If you accept and agree with the charge of common assault, then you agree with what the police have alleged. An early plea of guilty entitles you to a 25% discount on sentence.

It is definitely worth getting in touch with one of our experienced lawyers at the earliest so they can try their best to negotiate the police facts of the charge and the charge itself.

It is common for experienced lawyers to try and negotiate the facts that the judge will read when sentencing you. The facts the judge reads will give the judge an understanding of what sentence you should receive.

Our experienced lawyers work hard to try and negotiate the facts or try to have the charge negotiated to a different and less serious charge. Speak to one of our experienced team today.

The Penalty for common assault carries a maximum penalty of 1 year imprisonment in the Local Court and 2 years imprisonment in the District Court.

Pleading Not Guilty

If you disagree with the common assault charge, then it is best you enter a plea of not guilty. Defences that can be used in common assault charges are:

• Duress- your actions taken need to be reasonable in that your conduct was to avoid serious death or injury.
• Necessity- where it was vital to prevent serious injury, danger or death.
• Self Defence- the act was to protect yourself, another person or property.

The burden of proof is on the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you applied force to another person or threats with immediate violence were made to another person, you did not have consent of the person you assaulted, you acted intentionally or recklessly and there is no lawful excuse for your actions.

If the prosecution fails to prove these elements, then you will be found not guilty.

Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm is a charge that is more serious than common assault. Assault occasioning actual bodily harm means that you have allegedly brought injury to another person as a result of the assault. The injury sustained by the other person whom you have allegedly assaulted can be a scratch or bruise it does not need to be a major bodily harm.

Section 59 of the Crimes Act 1900 states that whosoever assaults any person, and thereby occasions actual bodily harm, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years. A person is guilty of an offence under this subsection if the person commits an offence under subsection (1) in the company of another person or persons. A person convicted of an offence under this subsection is liable to imprisonment for 7 years.

In order to be found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that:

• You caused actual bodily harm to another person by hitting or touching another person, or that you acted in a way that caused another person to fear immediate violence
• Your actions were intentional or reckless
• You did not have consent of the person whom you allegedly assaulted.
• Your action caused bodily harm to another person such as physical injury, being an injury that pierces the inner and outer layer of the skin

If any of these elements cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt, then you will be found not guilty.

What are my options?

You may choose to plead guilty or not guilty.

Pleading Guilty

If you accept and agree with the charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, then you agree with what the police have alleged. An early plea of guilty entitles you to a 25% discount on sentence.

It is definitely worth getting in touch with one of our experienced lawyers at the earliest so they can try their best to negotiate the police facts of the charge and the charge itself.

It is common for experienced lawyers to try and negotiate the facts that the judge will read when sentencing you. The facts the judge reads will give the judge an understanding of what sentence you should receive.

Our experienced lawyers work hard to try and negotiate the facts or try to have the charge negotiated to a different and less serious charge. Speak to one of our experienced team today.

The Penalty for Assault occasioning actual bodily harm carries a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment in the Local Court and 5 years imprisonment in the District Court.

Pleading Not Guilty

If you disagree with the assault occasioning actual bodily harm charge, then it is best you enter a plea of not guilty. Defences that can be used in common assault charges are:

• Duress- your actions taken need to be reasonable in that your conduct was to avoid serious death or injury.
• Necessity- where it was vital to prevent serious injury, danger or death.
• Self Defence- the act was to protect yourself, another person or property.

The burden of proof is on the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you caused actual bodily harm to another person by hitting or touching another person, or that you acted in a way that caused another person to fear immediate violence. Your actions were intentional or reckless, you did not have consent of the person whom you allegedly assaulted, your action caused bodily harm to another person such as physical injury, being an injury that pierces the inner and outer layer of the skin.

If the prosecution fails to prove these elements, then you will be found not guilty.

Assault Police Officer

If you make contact with a police officer while they are executing his or her duty, you may be charged with assaulting a police officer. Generally, police carry out their duty fair and reasonable. However, at times police may execute their duty aggressively or through unnecessary excessive force. In these instances, the slightest contact you may make with a police officer will result in you being charged for assaulting a police officer.

Many clients find that they are wrongly charged of assaulting a police officer when they were merely reacting to the excessive force used by the police officer, by fighting back or attempting to defend themselves.

If you feel that you have wrongly been charged of this offence, speak to one of our professional lawyers today to help you defend and fight the charges.

Section 60 of the Crimes Act 1900 states that  a person who assaults, throws a missile at, stalks, harasses or intimidates a police officer while in the execution of the officer’s duty, although no actual bodily harm is occasioned to the officer, is liable to imprisonment for 5 years.

In order to be found guilty of assault police officer the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that:

• You assaulted, stalked, harassed or intimidated a police officer;
• At the time the police officer was in the execution of their duty;
• The police officer did not consent;
• Your actions were intentional or reckless.

If the prosecution is alleging that a specific type of harm was inflicted on a police officer, then the prosecution may also have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that:

• Actual bodily harm was caused, being an injury that need not be
  permanent, but must be more than “merely transient or trifling”
  recklessly; or
• Grievous bodily harm was caused, being “really serious” injury,
  recklessly; or
• Your action caused wound, an injury to the police officer such as
  physical injury, being an injury that pierces the inner and outer layer
  of the skin

If any of these elements cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt, then you will be found not guilty.

What are my options?

You may choose to plead guilty or not guilty.

Pleading Guilty

If you accept and agree with the charge of assault police officer, then you agree with what the police have alleged. An early plea of guilty entitles you to a 25% discount on sentence.

It is definitely worth getting in touch with one of our experienced lawyers at the earliest so they can try their best to negotiate the police facts of the charge and the charge itself.

It is common for experienced lawyers to try and negotiate the facts that the judge will read when sentencing you. The facts the judge reads will give the judge an understanding of what sentence you should receive.

Our experienced lawyers work hard to try and negotiate the facts or try to have the charge negotiated to a different and less serious charge. Speak to one of our experienced team today.

The penalty for assaulting police carries a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment in the Local Court and 5 years imprisonment in the District Court. If an injury was inflicted on the police officer, then the maximum penalties increase significantly, depending on the seriousness of the assault.

Pleading Not Guilty

If you disagree with the assault police officer charge, then it is best you enter a plea of not guilty. Defences that can be used in common assault charges are:

• Duress- your actions taken need to be reasonable in that your conduct was to avoid serious death or injury.
• Necessity- where it was vital to prevent serious injury, danger or death.
• Self Defence- the act was to protect yourself, another person or property.

The burden of proof is on the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you assaulted, stalked, harassed or intimated a police officer, at the time the police officer was in execution of their duty, the police officer did not consent, your actions were intentional or reckless.

If the prosecution fails to prove these elements, then you will be found not guilty.

Speak to our highly experienced team today.

Recklessly Causing Grievous Bodily Harm or Wounding

If you have recklessly injured another person causing grievous bodily harm or wound to that person, then it is likely you will be charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm or wounding. Reckless means that you would have had some knowledge that your actions would have caused another person grievous bodily harm, but you ignored that risk and continued with your act.

Section 35 of the Crimes Act 1900 states that a person who causes grievous bodily harm to any person, and is reckless as to causing actual bodily harm to that or any other person, is guilty of an offence.

The offence of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm carries a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment in the Local Court and 10 years imprisonment in the District Court.

The offence of reckless wounding carries a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment in the Local Court and 7 years imprisonment in the District Court. If the offence is committed in company, then the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment.

In order to be found guilty of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that:

• You inflicted grievous bodily harm on another person or wounded a person through an injury that pierces their skin
• Your recklessness caused the grievous bodily harm

If any of these elements cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt, then you will be found not guilty.

What are my options?

You may choose to plead guilty or not guilty.

Pleading Guilty

If you accept and agree with the charge of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm or wounding, then you agree with what the police have alleged. An early plea of guilty entitles you to a 25% discount on sentence.

It is definitely worth getting in touch with one of our experienced lawyers at the earliest so they can try their best to negotiate the police facts of the charge and the charge itself.

It is common for experienced lawyers to try and negotiate the facts that the judge will read when sentencing you. The facts the judge reads will give the judge an understanding of what sentence you should receive.

Our experienced lawyers work hard to try and negotiate the facts or try to have the charge negotiated to a different and less serious charge. Speak to one of our experienced team today.

The penalty for recklessly causing grievous bodily harm carries a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment in the Local Court and 10 years imprisonment in the District Court. If the offence is committed in company, then the maximum penalty is 14 years imprisonment.

Pleading Not Guilty

If you disagree with the recklessly causing grievous bodily harm or wounding charge then it is best you enter a plea of not guilty. Defences that can be used in common assault charges are:

• Duress- your actions taken need to be reasonable in that your conduct was to avoid serious death or injury.
• Necessity- where it was vital to prevent serious injury, danger or death.
• Self Defence- the act was to protect yourself, another person or property.

The burden of proof is on the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you inflicted grievous bodily harm such as serious injury upon another person, and that you acted recklessly where you would have known that your actions could cause injury or grievous bodily harm, but you continued to act anyway.

If the prosecution fails to prove these elements, then you will be found not guilty.

Speak to our highly experienced team today.

Intentionally Wound or Cause Grievous Bodily Harm

If you have intentionally wounded or caused grievous bodily harm to another person, then it is likely you will be charged with intentionally causing grievous bodily harm. However, if the element of intent cannot be proven, then this offence cannot be made out.

Section 33 of the Crimes Act 1900 states that a person who wounds any person, or causes grievous bodily harm to any person, with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to that or any other person is guilty of an offence.

This offence carries a maximum penalty of imprisonment for 25 years and will be dealt with in the District Court.
Intentionally causing grievous bodily harm is a very serious charge, let our team of expert lawyers help you with getting the best possible outcome for you.

In order to be found guilty of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that:

• You caused wound or inflicted grievous bodily harm upon another person;
• You intentionally caused the wound or grievous bodily harm.

If any of these elements cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt, then you will be found not guilty.

What are my options?

You may choose to plead guilty or not guilty.

Pleading Guilty

If you accept and agree with the charge of intentionally wound or cause grievous bodily harm, then you agree with what the police have alleged. An early plea of guilty entitles you to a 25% discount on sentence.

It is definitely worth getting in touch with one of our experienced lawyers at the earliest so they can try their best to negotiate the police facts of the charge and the charge itself.

It is common for experienced lawyers to try and negotiate the facts that the judge will read when sentencing you. The facts the judge reads will give the judge an understanding of what sentence you should receive.

Our experienced lawyers work hard to try and negotiate the facts or try to have the charge negotiated to a different and less serious charge. Speak to one of our experienced team today.

The penalty for intentionally wound or cause grievous bodily harm carries a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment in the District Court.

Pleading Not Guilty

If you disagree with the intentionally wound or cause grievous bodily harm charge, then it is best you enter a plea of not guilty. Defences that can be used in intentionally wound or cause grievous bodily harm charges are:

• Duress- your actions taken need to be reasonable in that your conduct was to avoid serious death or injury.
• Necessity- where it was vital to prevent serious injury, danger or death.
• Self Defence- the act was to protect yourself, another person or property.

The burden of proof is on the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you wounded or inflicted grievous bodily harm upon another person, the act was done with intent to cause the wound or grievous bodily harm.

If the prosecution fails to prove these elements, then you will be found not guilty.

Speak to our highly experienced team today.