Can I claim self-defence for an assault charge?

If you are charged with an assault, such as Assault Occasioning Bodily Harm (AOBH), one of the most common and powerful legal protections available to you is self-defence.

Under Section 271 of the Criminal Code (Qld), it is lawful for a person to use such force as is reasonably necessary to defend themselves or another person from an unprovoked assault.

However, the law states that the force you use must not be disproportionate to the threat. For example, if someone pushes you, you generally cannot respond by striking them with a glass bottle. If you are invoking self-defence, the burden is actually on the police prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were not defending yourself. We routinely subpoena CCTV and build strong cases based on self-defence .