Assault and threaten to assault with the intent to commit an indictable offence – Victoria

In Victoria, it is an offence to assault or threaten to assault with the intent to commit an indictable offence against another person. This offence can see you serving up to five years in prison.

     What is ‘assault’?
Assault is the direct or indirect application of force by someone to another person’s body, clothes, or equipment that is on the body. It can also include heat, light, matter (solid, liquid or gas), electricity/current, or another form of energy applied to the body of the victim. There must be no legal reason for this, and the intention must be to be reckless as to the infliction of physical injury, pain, damage, shame or deprivation of liberty. An example may be when a person gets beaten up by another person or group of people.

     What does an ‘indictable offence’ mean?
An indictable offence is a serious crime tried in court by a judge and jury, or by a Magistrate. You can read more about indictable offences here. 

     Evidence of the offences
The prosecution must prove that the offender assaulted or threatened to assault another person, the assault resulted in injuries, pain or fear of being injured or being in pain, it was part of an act intended to be an indictable offence, and the offender acted without lawful reasons.

     Assault defences
A person can dispute the facts of the circumstances, and intent, or self-defence.

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