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Assaulting a prescribed emergency worker

There are two different offences of assaulting a police officer under South Australian legislation and the police may choose which offence they are to charge an offender with.

Aggravated Assault

A person commits this offence when they assault a police officer or other person engaged in a prescribed occupation or employment, knowing that the victim was acting in the course of their official duties, or, in the case of a police or other law enforcement officer, in retribution for something the offender believes they have done in the course of their duty [Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) s 5AA(1)(c) and (ka) and Criminal Law Consolidation (General) Regulations 2021 (SA) reg 4].

Maximum penalty:

Basic offence: Five years imprisonment [s 20(3)]

Causing harm: Seven years imprisonment [s 20(4)]

Assault Emergency Worker

From 3 October 2019, police may charge an offender for assaulting a prescribed emergency worker under section 20AA. An assault may include intentionally causing human biological material to come into contact with a victim or threatening to do so. There is also a separate offence of committing a prohibited act involving human biological material, see Prohibited act involving human biological material.

An emergency worker is prescribed in section 20AA(9) to include:

  • a police officer,
  • prison officer,
  • community corrections officer or youth justice officer,
  • an employee in a training centre,
  • a person (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, including a general practice, medical centre or other place at which people are vaccinated or screened for diseases),
  • a person performing duties in the course of retrieval medicine, a medical or other health practitioner attending an out of hours or unscheduled call out or assessing, stabilising or treating a person at the scene of an accident in a rural area,
  • a person (whether a pharmacist, pharmacy assistant or otherwise) performing duties in a pharmacy,
  • a person providing pharmacy services at a place other than a pharmacy or a person assisting in the provision of such services,
  • a member of the SA Ambulance Service,
  • a member of SA MFS, SA CFS or SA SES,
  • a law enforcement officer, a correctional services officer,
  • an inspector within the meaning of the Animal Welfare Act 1985 (SA), or
  • any other person engaged in an occupation or employment prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of section 5AA(1)(ka) (relating to aggravated offences).

Maximum penalty:

Basic offence: Five years imprisonment [s 20AA(3)]

Hinder or resist police officer in course of official duty causing harm: 10 years imprisonment [s 20AA(4)]

Recklessly cause harm: 10 years imprisonment [s 20AA(2)]

Intentionally cause harm: 15 years imprisonment [s 20AA(1)]

Harm in relation to these offences has the same meaning as in Division 7A, section 21, namely physical or mental harm (whether temporary or permanent).

Assaulting a prescribed emergency worker  :  Last Revised: Tue Sep 7th 2021
The content of the Law Handbook is made available as a public service for information purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. See Disclaimer for details. For free and confidential legal advice in South Australia call 1300 366 424.