Div 7Assault

Division 7—Assault 20—Assault (1) A person commits an assault if the person, without the consent of another person (the victim)— (a) intentionally applies force (directly or indirectly) to the victim; or (b) intentionally makes physical contact (directly or indirectly) with the victim, knowing that the victim might reasonably object to the contact in the circumstances (whether or not the victim was at the time aware of the contact); or (c) threatens (by words or conduct) to apply force (directly or indirectly) to the victim and there are reasonable grounds for the victim to believe that— (i) the person who makes the threat is in a position to carry out the threat and intends to do so; or (ii) there is a real possibility that the person will carry out the threat; or (d) does an act of which the intended purpose is to apply force (directly or indirectly) to the victim; or (e) accosts or impedes another in a threatening manner. (2) However— (a) conduct that lies within limits of what would be generally accepted in the community as normal incidents of social interaction or community life cannot amount to an assault; and (b) conduct that is justified or excused by law cannot amount to an assault. (3) A person who commits an assault is guilty of an offence. (a) for a basic offence—imprisonment for 2 years; (b) for an aggravated offence (except one to which paragraph (c) or (d) applies)—imprisonment for 3 years; (c) for an offence aggravated by the use of, or a threat to use, an offensive weapon—imprisonment for 4 years; (d) for an offence aggravated by the circumstances referred to in section 5AA(1)(c), (ca) or (ka)—imprisonment for 5 years. (4) A person who commits an assault that causes harm to another is guilty of an offence. (b) for an aggravated offence (except one to which paragraph (c) or (d) applies)—imprisonment for 4 years; (c) for an offence aggravated by the use of, or a threat to use, an offensive weapon—imprisonment for 5 years; (d) for an offence aggravated by the circumstances referred to in section 5AA(1)(c), (ca) or (ka)—imprisonment for 7 years. This offence replaces section 40 (assault occasioning actual bodily harm) as in force prior to the commencement of this subsection and, consequently, see Coulter v The Queen (1988) 164 CLR 350. 20AA—Causing harm to, or assaulting, certain emergency workers etc (1) A person who causes harm to a prescribed emergency worker acting in the course of official duties, intending to cause harm, is guilty of an offence. (2) A person who causes harm to a prescribed emergency worker acting in the course of official duties, and is reckless in doing so, is guilty of an offence. (3) A person who assaults a prescribed emergency worker acting in the course of official duties is guilty of an offence. (4) A person who hinders or resists a police officer acting in the course of official duties, and, in so doing, causes harm to the officer, is guilty of an offence. (5) In proceedings for an offence against this section, it is a defence for the defendant to prove that the defendant did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that the victim was a prescribed emergency worker, or police officer, (as the case requires) acting in the course of official duties. (6) Without limiting the ways in which a person can cause harm to a prescribed emergency worker, harm can be caused (but will not be taken to be caused) by causing human biological material to come into contact with a prescribed emergency worker. (7) For the purposes of this section, a person causes human biological material to come into contact with a victim if the person performs any act (including, without limiting the generality of this subsection, by spitting or throwing human biological material at the victim, or deliberately applying human biological material to their person knowing that the victim is likely to come into physical contact with the person in the course of their duties) intended or likely to cause human biological material to come into contact with the victim. (8) This section does not apply to conduct occurring before the commencement of this section. (9) In this section— assault means an assault within the meaning of section 20(1) and includes, to avoid doubt, an act consisting of intentionally causing human biological material to come into contact with a victim, or threatening to do so; harm has the same meaning as in Division 7A; human biological material means— (a) blood, saliva, semen, faeces, urine or vomit; or (b) any other material prescribed by the regulations; pharmacy has the same meaning as in Part 4 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (South Australia) Act 2010; pharmacy services has the same meaning as in Part 4 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (South Australia) Act 2010; prescribed emergency worker means— (a) a police officer; or (b) a prison officer; or (c) a community corrections officer or community youth justice officer; or (d) an employee in a training centre (within the meaning of the Youth Justice Administration Act 2016); or (e) a person (whether a health practitioner, nurse, nurse practitioner, midwife, security officer or otherwise) performing duties in a hospital, or at any other place where medical treatment is provided or medical testing undertaken (however described, but including, without limiting this paragraph, a general practice, medical centre or other place at which people are vaccinated or screened for diseases); or (f) a person (whether a medical practitioner, nurse, pilot or otherwise) performing duties in the course of retrieval medicine; or (g) a medical practitioner or other health practitioner (both within the meaning of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (South Australia)) attending an out of hours or unscheduled callout, or assessing, stabilising or treating a person at the scene of an accident or other emergency, in a rural area; or (ga) a person (whether a pharmacist, pharmacy assistant or otherwise) performing duties in a pharmacy; or (gb) a person providing pharmacy services at a place other than a pharmacy, or a person assisting in the provision of such services; or (h) a member of the SA Ambulance Service Inc; or (i) a member of SAMFS, SACFS or SASES; or (j) a law enforcement officer; or (k) an inspector within the meaning of the Animal Welfare Act 1985; or (ka) an authorised person within the meaning of the Dog and Cat Management Act 1995, or a person assisting an authorised person in the exercise of powers under that Act; or (l) any other person engaged in an occupation or employment prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of section 5AA(1)(ka); or (m) any other person prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph, whether acting in a paid or voluntary capacity, but does not include a person, or person of a class, declared by the regulations to be excluded from the ambit of this definition; recklessly—a person is reckless in causing harm to another if the person— (a) is aware of a substantial risk that his or her conduct could result in harm or serious harm (as the case requires); and (b) engages in the conduct despite the risk and without adequate justification; retrieval medicine means the assessment, stabilisation and transportation to hospital of patients with severe injury or critical illness (other than by a member of SA Ambulance Service Inc); rural area means an area outside of Metropolitan Adelaide as defined by GRO Plan 639/93. 20AB—Further offence involving use of human biological material (1) A person who commits a prohibited act involving human biological material against another person is guilty of an offence. (a) if harm is caused to the victim—imprisonment for 3 years; (b) in any other case—imprisonment for 2 years. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person commits a prohibited act involving human biological material against another person (the victim) if— (a) the person intentionally causes human biological material to come into contact with the victim; or (b) the person threatens (by words or conduct) to cause human biological material to come into contact with the victim. (3) For the purposes of this section, a person causes human biological material to come into contact with a victim if the person performs any act (including, without limiting the generality of this subsection, by spitting or throwing human biological material at the victim) intended or likely to cause human biological material to come into contact with the victim. harm has the same meaning as in Division 7A; human biological material means— (a) blood, saliva, semen, faeces, urine or vomit; or (b) any other material prescribed by the regulations. 20AC—Alternative verdicts If— (a) a jury is not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a charge of an offence against section 20AA or 20AB has been established; but (b) the Judge has instructed the jury that it is open to the jury on the evidence to find the defendant guilty of a specified offence against this Act; and (c) the jury is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the specified offence against this Act has been established, the jury may return a verdict that the defendant is not guilty of the offence charged but is guilty of the specified offence against this Act. Division 7AA—Choking etc in a domestic setting 20A—Choking, suffocation or strangulation in a domestic setting (a1) A person who— (a) is, or has been, in a relationship with another person; and (b) chokes, suffocates or strangles that other person, without that other person's consent; and (c) causes harm to that other person such that the other person is rendered unconscious, (a) is, or has been, in a relationship with another person; and (b) chokes, suffocates or strangles that other person, without that other person's consent, Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 7 years. (2) However, conduct that is justified or excused by law cannot amount to an offence against this section. (3) Two people will be taken to be in a relationship for the purposes of this section if— (a) they are married to each other; or (b) they are domestic partners; or (c) they are in some other form of intimate personal relationship in which their lives are interrelated and the actions of 1 affects the other; or (d) 1 is the child, stepchild or grandchild, or is under the guardianship, of the other (regardless of age); or (e) 1 is a child, stepchild or grandchild, or is under the guardianship, of a person who is or was formerly in a relationship with the other under paragraph (a), (b) or (c) (regardless of age); or (f) 1 is a child and the other is a person who acts in loco parentis in relation to the child; or (g) 1 is a child who normally or regularly resides or stays with the other; or (h) they are brothers or sisters or brother and sister; or (i) they are otherwise related to each other by or through blood, marriage, a domestic partnership or adoption; or (j) they are related according to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander kinship rules or are both members of some other culturally recognised family group; or (k) 1 is the carer (within the meaning of the Carers Recognition Act 2005) of the other. (4) A reference in this section to— (a) choking or strangling a person means the applying of pressure to the person's neck to an extent that is capable of affecting the breath or the flow of blood to the head of the person; and (b) suffocating a person includes a reference to— (i) obstructing, to any extent, any part of the person's respiratory system; or (ii) interfering, to any extent, with the operation of the person's respiratory system; or (iii) impeding, to any extent, the person's respiration. (a) a jury is not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a charge of an offence against subsection (a1) has been established; but (b) the court in which the defendant is being tried for an offence against subsection (a1) has instructed the jury that it is open to the jury on the evidence to find the defendant guilty of an offence against subsection (1); and (c) the jury is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that an offence against subsection (1) has been established, the jury may return a verdict that the defendant is not guilty of the offence charged but is guilty of an offence against subsection (1). (6) If— (a) a jury is not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a charge of an offence against subsection (a1) or (1) has been established; but (b) the court in which the defendant is being tried for an offence against subsection (a1) or (1) has instructed the jury that it is open to the jury on the evidence to find the defendant guilty of an offence of assault; and (c) the jury is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the offence of assault has been established, the jury may return a verdict that the defendant is not guilty of the offence charged but is guilty of assault.