Unlawful assault

Legislation: Summary Offences Act 1966 (Vic) s 23

Maximum penalty: 3 months imprisonment or 15 penalty units

Period: 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2023

Jurisdiction: Magistrates' Court

Charges

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Cases

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All outcomes

Males

Females

Aged 18 to 24

Aged 25 to 54

Aged 55 and over

*Note: unavailable options have under 10 cases

Charge data

In the Magistrates' Court, 25,412 charges of unlawful assault were sentenced in the three years to 30 June 2023. The most common sentence for a charge of this offence was an adjourned undertaking (31.3% or 7965 charges).

On SACStat, a charge is a single count of a sentenced offence. Charge data is most useful in understanding how a specific crime is usually sentenced.

Case data

In 19,524 cases sentenced in the Magistrates' Court in the three years to 30 June 2023, each case included at least one charge of unlawful assault. Among the 19,524 cases, 16,362 people were male and 3,162 people were female. The most common outcome for cases was an adjourned undertaking (33.1% or 6459 cases).

A case is a collection of one or more charges against a person or company sentenced at the one hearing. Case data is most useful in understanding the total sentence usually imposed on people found guilty of a particular crime.

Bar graph showing sentence types imposed for charges of unlawful assault — **Figure 1**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of unlawful assault
**Number: 25,412 charges**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for charges of unlawful assault — **Figure 2**: Imprisonment lengths for charges of unlawful assault
**Number: 790 charges**

Bar graph showing lengths of community correction orders for charges of unlawful assault — **Figure 3**: Community correction order lengths for charges of unlawful assault
**Number: 4,791 charges**

Bar graph showing fine amounts for charges of unlawful assault — **Figure 4**: Fine amounts for charges of unlawful assault
**Number: 1,837 charges**
**Note**: The graph only includes fines that were not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate fines).

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for charges of unlawful assault — **Figure 5**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of unlawful assault by financial year
**Number: 25,412 charges**

Bar graph showing the number of charges each year for the offence of unlawful assault — **Figure 6**: Number of charges of unlawful assault by financial year
**Number: 25,412 charges**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths each year for charges of unlawful assault — **Figure 7**: Average imprisonment lengths for charges of unlawful assault by financial year
**Number: 790 charges**
**Note**: The graph only includes imprisonment that was not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate imprisonment).

Bar graph showing fines amounts each year for charges of unlawful assault — **Figure 8**: Average fine amounts for charges of unlawful assault by financial year
**Number: 1,837 charges**
**Note**: The graph only includes fines that were not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate fines).

Bar graph showing sentence types for all offenders for cases of unlawful assault — **Figure 9A**: Sentencing outcomes for all people for cases of unlawful assault
**Number: 19,524 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for male offenders for cases of unlawful assault — **Figure 9B**: Sentencing outcomes for males for cases of unlawful assault
**Number: 16,362 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for female offenders for cases of unlawful assault — **Figure 9C**: Sentencing outcomes for females for cases of unlawful assault
**Number: 3,162 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged under 25 for cases of unlawful assault — **Figure 9D**: Sentencing outcomes for people aged under 25 for cases of unlawful assault
**Number: 2,914 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged 25 to 54 for cases of unlawful assault — **Figure 9E**: Sentencing outcomes for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of unlawful assault
**Number: 15,029 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged 55 and over for cases of unlawful assault — **Figure 9F**: Sentencing outcomes for people aged 55 and over for cases of unlawful assault
**Number: 1,531 cases**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for cases of unlawful assault — **Figure 10**: Imprisonment lengths for cases of unlawful assault
**Number: 4,834 cases**, including imprisonment only (3,068 cases) and imprisonment combined with a community correction order (1,766 cases).

Bar graph showing non-parole periods for cases of unlawful assault — **Figure 11**: Non-parole periods for all people for cases of unlawful assault
**Number: 3,068 cases**
**Note**: Imprisonment terms do not include a community correction order.

Bar graph showing lengths of community correction orders for cases of unlawful assault — **Figure 12**: Community correction order lengths for cases of unlawful assault
**Number: 3,121 cases**

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for cases of unlawful assault — **Figure 13**: Sentencing outcomes for all cases of unlawful assault by financial year
**Number: 19,524 cases**

Bar graph showing the number of cases each year for cases of unlawful assault — **Figure 14**: Number of cases of unlawful assault for all people by financial year
**Number: 19,524 cases**

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length each year for cases of unlawful assault — **Figure 15**: Average imprisonment lengths for cases of unlawful assault by financial year
**Number: 4,834 cases**

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length and average non-parole period for each year for cases of unlawful assault — **Figure 16**: Average imprisonment lengths and non-parole periods (NPPs) for cases of unlawful assault by financial year
**Number: 279 cases**
**Note**: *NPP Cases* in the graph indicates that only cases with a non-parole period are included.