Appendix C: Other categories of assaults outside of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic)
In Chapter 4, we set out a hierarchy of offences with recklessness as a fault element, and alternative offences that may be charged. We did not include all the available assault charges outside of the Crimes Act; we list them here for completeness.
Table 20
|
Offence |
Maximum penalty (term of imprisonment) |
|---|---|
|
Common law assault Indictable offence triable summarily |
Five years.[1] 10 years if the person has an offensive weapon and the victim is a police or protective services officer on duty.[2] 15 years if the person has a firearm or imitation firearm and the victim is a police or protective services officer on duty.[3] If the person has an offensive weapon/firearm/imitation firearm and the victim is a police or protective services officer on duty, common law assault is a Category 2 offence (mandatory custodial) under the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) if committed on/after 5 June 2019 and if the assault included the direct ‘application of force’.[4] |
|
Aggravated assault Summary Offences Act 1966 (Vic) s 24 |
For an assault against a male child under 14 or any female where the assault is too serious to be punished under section 23 common assault: six months. For an assault in company with another person (multiple offenders): 12 months. For an assault by kicking, or with the use of a weapon or instrument: two years. |
|
Assaulting, resisting, obstructing, hindering or delaying emergency workers, custodial officers, youth justice custodial workers or local authority staff on duty Summary Offences Act 1966 (Vic) s 51 |
60 penalty units[5] or imprisonment for six months. |
|
Assaulting registered health practitioners Summary Offences Act 1966 (Vic) s 51A |
60 penalty units or imprisonment for six months. |
|
Common assault (unlawful assault) Summary Offences Act 1966 (Vic) s 23 |
15 penalty units or imprisonment for three months. |
-
Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 320.
-
The 10-year maximum penalty applies if at the time of the assault the person who commits the assault has an offensive weapon readily available; and the person assaulted is a police or protective services officer on duty; and the offender knows or is reckless as to whether the victim is a police or protective services officer; and the offender enables the victim to see the weapon or its general shape or tells or suggests to the victim that the offender has the weapon; and the offender knows or in all the circumstances ought to have known that engaging in the conduct would be likely to arouse apprehension or fear: Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 320A(1).
-
The 15-year maximum penalty applies if at the time of the assault, the person who commits the assault has a firearm or imitation firearm readily available; and the person assaulted is a police or protective services officer on duty; and the offender knows or is reckless as to whether the victim is a police or protective services officer; and the offender enables the victim to see the firearm or imitation firearm or its general shape or tells or suggests to the victim that the offender has the weapon; and the offender knows or in all the circumstances ought to have known that engaging in the conduct would be likely to arouse apprehension or fear: Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) 320A(2).
-
Within the meaning of Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 31(2).
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Penalty units determine the amount a person is fined. The value of a penalty unit is set annually by the Victorian Treasurer and is updated on 1 July each year. From 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, the value of the penalty unit is $192.31: Department of Justice and Community Safety (Vic) Penalties and Values (Web Page, 28 June 2023) <https://www.justice.vic.gov.au/justice-system/fines-and-penalties/penalties-and-values>.