Experienced Assault Lawyers in Melbourne

Being accused of assault can have serious consequences for your freedom, employment, reputation and family life. Getting legal advice early can also make an important difference to how the matter is approached from the outset.

Galbally Parker represents clients facing assault and violent offence allegations throughout Melbourne and Victoria. Our criminal defence lawyers act in matters ranging from common and unlawful assault through to serious injury offences heard in the County and Supreme Courts.

We examine the circumstances surrounding the allegation, the evidence relied upon by police and the defences available to determine the strongest strategy for your case.

Speak to our team to find out your rights and how we can help you.

What Assault Charges Do We Defend?

Assault allegations can arise in many different circumstances. The charges laid will depend on factors including what is alleged to have occurred, whether an injury was caused and the surrounding circumstances.

Aggravated assault generally involves an assault committed in circumstances that make the allegation more serious, including certain offences involving weapons, multiple people or particular victims. The circumstances of the incident and the evidence about each person’s involvement can be particularly important in these cases.

Physical assault can lead to a range of charges depending on the force allegedly used and whether an injury was caused. Establishing precisely what happened, how any injury occurred and what the available evidence shows is often central to defending these allegations.

Common or unlawful assault sits at the lower end of assault offending but can still have significant consequences. These cases can involve relatively brief incidents and may turn heavily on competing accounts, CCTV or other evidence about what actually occurred.

Domestic assault allegations arise in the context of current or former partners and family relationships. These matters can be particularly complex because the criminal charges may proceed alongside family violence intervention order proceedings.

What Happens When You Are Charged With Assault?

What happens next will depend on the charge, the seriousness of the alleged conduct and the available evidence.

Early legal advice gives your lawyer an opportunity to understand what occurred, examine the police allegations and identify evidence that may need to be obtained before it is lost.

This can include:

  • CCTV or mobile phone footage
  • witness statements
  • text messages and other communications
  • medical evidence
  • forensic evidence
  • photographs
  • evidence about what occurred before and after the alleged incident.

If police want to interview you but you have not yet been charged, it is also important to get advice before participating in an interview.

Assault matters may be heard in different courts depending on the offence. The Magistrates’ Court of Victoria explains how summary and indictable criminal matters are dealt with, although more serious offending may ultimately proceed to a higher court.

How Can an Assault Lawyer Defend the Charges?

Assault cases often turn on much more than whether physical contact occurred.

Our lawyers look closely at the entire context of the allegation, including:

  • whether the prosecution can prove each element of the charge
  • the reliability and consistency of witness accounts
  • whether the accused has been correctly identified
  • CCTV, phone footage and other recordings
  • medical and forensic evidence
  • what occurred immediately before and during the incident
  • whether self-defence or another lawful defence may be available
  • whether the charges accurately reflect what is alleged to have occurred.

For example, a case may initially appear straightforward but become significantly weaker when witness accounts are compared with CCTV, medical evidence or other objective material.

Where appropriate, we can make submissions seeking the withdrawal or reduction of charges. If a matter proceeds to a contested hearing or trial, we prepare the evidence and defence case in detail.

Where a client intends to plead guilty, our focus shifts to charge negotiations, preparation for sentencing and presenting the circumstances relevant to achieving the best available outcome.

Serious Assault and Injury Offences

Assault-related offending in Victoria ranges from lower-level assault allegations through to serious offences involving injury or serious injury.

The Crimes Act 1958 contains a number of offences against the person, including offences involving intentionally or recklessly causing injury and serious injury.

More serious allegations may require detailed examination of medical evidence, forensic material, the accused person’s state of mind and exactly how the alleged injury occurred.

Where allegations involve extremely serious injury or an alleged intention to kill, offences such as attempted murder may also need to be considered.

For a more detailed explanation of the different offences, read The Law Surrounding Different Assault Offences.

Recent Assault Case Results

Word-on-word assault case – all charges withdrawn

Our client faced assault-related charges in the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court.

We identified significant weaknesses in the prosecution case, including credibility issues, conflicting witness statements and a lack of medical material. Although the prosecution initially refused to withdraw the charges, we progressed the matter to a Contest Mention and argued the evidentiary issues before the Court.

The prosecution ultimately agreed to withdraw all charges before the contested hearing.

View the full Galbally Parker case result

Intentionally causing injury – Community Corrections Order

Our client faced a charge of intentionally causing injury following an alleged serious assault involving a co-accused.

After Galbally Parker was engaged, we successfully applied for bail so our client could enter residential rehabilitation. Following significant progress while on bail, Natasha Poppen ran a Sentencing Indication and argued for the matter to resolve to the alternative charge of recklessly causing injury.

The client ultimately received a 12-month Community Corrections Order rather than further imprisonment.

View the full Galbally Parker case result

Why Choose Galbally Parker Assault Lawyers?

Assault and violent offending form a significant part of Galbally Parker’s criminal defence practice.

Our lawyers act in matters ranging from Magistrates’ Court assault allegations to complex violent offences in the County and Supreme Courts. We focus on detailed preparation, close analysis of the evidence and clear advice about the options available at every stage.

Our approach depends on the case. This may involve challenging the prosecution evidence, conducting further investigations, negotiating the withdrawal or reduction of charges, preparing a contested defence or presenting a carefully prepared plea.

The objective is not to apply the same strategy to every assault allegation. It is to identify the issues that matter in your case and determine the best way to respond.

Speak With an Experienced Assault Lawyer

If you have been charged with assault or police are investigating an allegation against you, contact Galbally Parker to discuss your circumstances and the next steps.

Book a Free 15 Minute Tele-consult

Frequently Asked Questions About Assault Charges

One of the first things we look at in an assault case is whether there is evidence that needs to be preserved quickly. CCTV can be overwritten, messages can be deleted and witnesses’ memories can become less clear over time.

If you have photographs, messages, recordings or other material relating to the incident, keep it. Getting advice early also gives us an opportunity to identify evidence that may not form part of the police brief but could be important to your defence.

Yes. We regularly speak with clients before they have participated in a police interview, and this can be an important stage of the case.

The appropriate approach depends on what police are alleging and the circumstances of the investigation. We can explain your rights, what the interview process involves and how the decision you make at this stage may affect the case later.

They can, and we have had assault cases where charges have been withdrawn after weaknesses in the prosecution evidence were properly identified and raised.

However, a withdrawal usually requires more than simply telling the prosecution that the accused denies the allegation. We look for specific issues such as inconsistent accounts, credibility problems, missing evidence, CCTV that contradicts the allegation or difficulties proving an element of the charge.

Sometimes those issues can be raised through early negotiations. In other cases, the matter needs to progress further before the prosecution’s position changes.

Yes, and in our experience the context immediately before force was used can be just as important as the physical act itself.

We look closely at what the accused believed was happening, whether they believed they or another person needed to be defended, and how they responded to the perceived threat. CCTV, witness evidence and communications before the incident can all become important.

Read our article on self-defence and assault-related charges in Victoria.

There is rarely one type of evidence that matters in every assault case. We have dealt with cases where CCTV has been critical, and others where the outcome has depended on inconsistencies between witness accounts, medical evidence, text messages or what was missing from the prosecution case.

That is why we don’t assess an assault allegation solely from the police summary. The broader evidence can change the way a case looks considerably.

No. Many of the assault matters we deal with never reach a contested hearing or trial.

After reviewing the brief and any additional evidence, there may be scope to negotiate about the charges or seek their withdrawal. If the evidence supports the prosecution case and a client decides to plead guilty, negotiations can also affect which charges ultimately proceed.

The right approach depends on the strength of the evidence and the client’s instructions, rather than assuming every matter should follow the same path.