Quick answer
Charged with assault in New South Wales? This video explains the NSW penalty ladder in plain English - common assault (up to 2 years), assault occasioning actual bodily harm (5 years, or 7 in company) - why those numbers are ceilings rather than predictions, the three main defences including self-defence, and how a guilty finding can still end without a recorded conviction.
What this video covers
- Introduction (0:00)
- Charged with assault in NSW (0:04)
- The penalty ladder — 2 / 5 / 7 years (0:25)
- Ceilings, not predictions (0:47)
- The three main defences (1:09)
- Guilty can still mean no conviction (1:37)
- Do this now (2:02)
- Defendable, with the right help (2:30)
- Free help, any hour - 1800 577 015 (2:55)
Transcript
You have been charged with assault in New South Wales. Maybe it was a scuffle outside a pub, a heated moment at home, a fight you say you never started. Right now you want two things. To know how bad this could get, and to know how to fight it. Plain answers, coming up. Assault in New South Wales is a ladder, and where your charge sits on it matters enormously. Common assault, where no real injury results, carries up to two years. Cause actual bodily harm, even bruising, and the maximum becomes five years. Do it with someone else alongside you, and it is seven. Now breathe.
Those numbers are ceilings, not predictions. Most assault charges are dealt with in the local court, where sentences run far below the maximums, and where a first offense is treated very differently from a tenth. What you do between now and your court date genuinely moves the outcome. How do you defend it? Three main roads. One, It did not happen, or it was not you, and the prosecution cannot prove otherwise. Two, Self defense. You believed what you did was necessary, and your response was reasonable in the circumstances as you saw them. Three.
The contact was an accident or lawful rather than a deliberate or reckless act. And if the evidence is against you, defending yourself well can still mean something different. In New South Wales a court that finds you guilty can, in the right case, decide not to record a conviction at all, sometimes with conditions attached. It is never guaranteed, but for a first offense with good preparation, it is a real outcome lawyers fight for and win. So do three things now. Write down everything you remember while it is fresh, including who saw it. Say nothing more to police until you have advice.
And get that advice before you enter any plea, because the biggest mistakes in assault cases happen in the first week, not the last. If it happened at home, be aware family violence charges bring extra consequences, so move even faster. An assault charge is serious, but it is also one of the most defendable charges in the book, and thousands of people come through it with their record and their life intact. Talk to someone who does this every day. Our hotline is free to call, any hour, and a consultation with a criminal lawyer is a fixed price. The number is on your screen.
Important
This video provides general legal information for New South Wales. It is not legal advice and does not take account of your circumstances. Laws and court processes change. For advice about your situation, speak with a qualified lawyer.