Assault Charge Lawyers Sydney
Considered, thorough defence for every category of assault charge, from common assault to the most serious allegations of violence.
Assault Charge Lawyers: What You Need to Know
Assault charges arise out of moments, an altercation outside a venue, a dispute that escalated, an allegation that tells only one side of the story. The charge that follows can carry consequences wildly out of proportion to the moment itself: a criminal record, employment consequences, and for the more serious categories, imprisonment.
Korn Tlais Defence Lawyers defend the full range of assault allegations across Sydney and New South Wales, from Local Court hearings to District Court trials. The version of events police acted on is a starting point, not the final word.
Assault Charges We Defend
NSW law grades assault by the harm alleged and the intent asserted. We act in:
- Common assault
No injury is required; the charge can rest on a touch or even a threat. It is also frequently defensible, and frequently overcharged.
- Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (AOABH)
Where injury beyond the transient is alleged. The boundary between this and common assault is a genuine legal contest, not a formality.
- Reckless wounding and grievous bodily harm
Serious indictable charges where the medical evidence, the mechanism of injury and the state of mind alleged all demand rigorous examination.
- Wounding or GBH with intent
Among the most serious offences of violence in NSW law, prosecuted in the District Court and demanding trial-grade preparation from the first day.
- Affray and public order offences
Charges about the fear of bystanders rather than injury, often laid broadly after chaotic incidents and often contestable on the footage.
- Assault police and resist arrest
Charges where the lawfulness of the police conduct itself is often the central question.
Defences That Actually Run
Self-defence is the most commonly run defence to assault in NSW, and once fairly raised, the prosecution must eliminate it beyond reasonable doubt. What you believed, and whether your response was reasonable in the circumstances as you perceived them, is assessed on the whole picture, not the prosecution’s excerpt of it.
CCTV, body-worn video and independent witnesses decide many of these cases. Securing that material early, before it is deleted or overlooked, is one of the most valuable things a defence lawyer does in the first week of an assault matter.
How We Defend Assault Charges
We reconstruct the incident independently: every camera, every witness, every inconsistency between the statements and the objective evidence. Our case results include a complete acquittal in a judge-alone trial where precisely that work exposed the inconsistencies in the account against our client.
Where the evidence supports a plea, we contest the facts that matter, the grading of the injury, the characterisation of the conduct, and prepare sentence thoroughly. The difference between an assault matter handled well and handled poorly is often a conviction, and sometimes a custodial sentence.
Common Questions
Can a common assault charge really proceed with no injury?
Yes. Common assault requires no injury at all; the charge can rest on unwanted contact or a threat that caused fear. That same breadth makes it one of the most contestable charges in the Local Court.
The other person started it. Does that matter?
It can matter decisively. Self-defence is a complete defence, and once it is fairly raised on the evidence, the prosecution carries the burden of excluding it beyond reasonable doubt. The full context, who did what first, and what you reasonably believed, is exactly what we build.
Will an assault charge give me a criminal record?
A conviction will. But depending on the charge and circumstances, outcomes without conviction are available, and charges are also withdrawn or dismissed when the evidence is properly tested. The trajectory is set early, which is why early advice matters.
What if the alleged victim does not want to press charges?
In NSW the decision to prosecute belongs to police and the prosecution, not the complainant, so a matter can continue regardless. A complainant’s attitude can still be relevant to how the matter resolves, and we know how to put it to proper use.
Charged With Assault?
The evidence that decides these cases can disappear in days. Get advice now, in confidence, at any hour.