About Disclosure Obligations
Our team have successfully defended many clients found with common assault charges.
We have the experience to help gain the best possible outcome for you quickly & at low cost.
- Our process
- The law
- Obligations
FreePhone case assessment
Lets talk about your situation confidentially. We will discuss the alledged common assault in detail to understand what happened and be able to tell you if we can help or not. Get the process started now, by requesting a free call back.
Book appointment with a specialist lawyer
If it's clear consulting a solicitor you will help your situation, we can identify the right one for your case and arrange a convenient appointment for you. We will review any documents you send us, and brief the solicitor before you arrive to maximise your time with them.
In depth consultation
At your meeting the solicitor will be able to indicate the outcome they expect to achieve and the legal pathway they would take with you to ensure the best possible result based off past cases and experience. Possible defences will be explored and all of your questions answered.
Sound legal advice & pathway forward
Armed with sound legal advice and a fixed fee quote for respresentation throughout the process you can then decide if you would like them to act on your behalf to drop charges or represent you in court.
Know Your Settlement Entitlements.
Don't let your ex dictate what you are entitled to. You have legal rights, arm yourself with knowledge before negotiating.
Our Settlement Lawyers Can Help
Meet with lawyers who understand the system and can easily explain your settlement options.
- Past Cases
- Good Results
- Happy Clients
The law relating to common assault can be confusing, we have tried to simplify this here although nothing beats professional legal advice as the interpretation of the law may be misunderstood in the way it is applied to your case. Our Professional assault lawyers can provide detailed advice on the law and if the
The Law
Each party to a case has a duty to the court and to each other party to give full and frank disclosure of all information relevant to the case, in a timely manner.
In Plain English
The duty of disclosure is your duty to provide the other parties in your case with all information and documents which are relevant to the issues in the case.
If your situation changes or more documents are created or come into your possession, you will need to make sure that the other party knows about them and the information they contain. The duty begins with the pre-action procedure, before you make an application to the court and continues until your case is finalised.
Know Your Settlement Entitlements.
Don't let your ex dictate what you are entitled to. You have legal rights, arm yourself with knowledge before negotiating.
Our Settlement Lawyers Can Help
Meet with lawyers who understand the system and can easily explain your settlement options.
- Past Cases
- Good Results
- Happy Clients
There are a number of defences that might be applicable to a common assault charge. Some defences may be more obvious than others, deciding if any of the defences listed below would apply to your case and be accepted in court should it reach a trial should only be considered after gaining proper common assault legal advice. It's important to remember should you attempt to use a defence that does not properly apply you could face a conviction that you may otherwise not have.
Disclosure obligations
Duty of disclosure requires all parties to a family law dispute to provide to each other party all information relevant to an issue in the case. This information includes but is not limited to.
- Electronic information
- Paper documents
- Court documents
- Documents other parties may not know about
The rules of disclosure in financial and property matters are in addition to the general disclosure requirements. In financial and property matters it is required that the following is disclosed.
- All sources of earnings
- Financial interests
- Income
- Property
- Other financial resources
- Property disposal (sale, transfer, assignment or gift) made within a year before separation or after separation.
Undertaking regarding your disclosure
During your matter, you may be required to sign and undertaking as to your disclosure obligations. By signing the undertaking you are acknowledging that you:
- Have read the Family Law Rules in relation to disclosure; and
- Are aware of your duty to the Court and each other party to give full and frank disclosure of all information relevant to the issues in the case, in a timely manner.
- Have complied with the duty of disclosure, to the best of your knowledge and ability; and
- Acknowledge that breach of the undertaking may be contempt of court.
You must not make a statement or sign an undertaking if you know, or should reasonably know, that it is false or misleading.
Financial statement
As part of your duty of disclosure you are required to file a Financial Statement (Form 13), in cases involving financial issues. Where completing the form does not provide sufficient information to enable you to provide full disclosure you are required to also file an affidavit with the other information.
If your financial circumstances change after you file the Financial Statement you must file an amended statement.
Penalties for failing
The court has serious penalties for failure to disclose information or for giving misleading or false information. They may:
- Refuse you permission to use the information or document as evidence in your matter
- Postpone or dismiss all or part of your matter
- Make you pay the other parties legal fees
- Fine or imprison you for being found guilty of contempt of the court.
Making sure the application is completed correctly.
Leaving things to the last minute makes it more difficult for your legal team to obtain the best possible result
Lawyers with extensive divorce experience
Meet with lawyers who understand the system and have successfully applied for divorces.
- Past Cases
- Good Results
- Happy Clients
The courts and prosecution take common assault charges seriously, if you are convicted of a common assault it can have a big effect on your life and mental wellbeing. It's important to remember that with a good legal team even if you are found guilty they can help to reduce any possible penalties that might be enforced. It's also possible in certain circumstances to make an application to stop a conviction showing up on a criminal record check for employment purposes.
What’s taken into account if you’re found guilty
- The circumstances of the assault
- Your criminal history
- If you are a person of good character
- Your personal life and mental health
- If you show remorse
Prison sentence
There is a possibility of imprisonment if you are convicted of a common assault. The maximum penalty is 18 months although this can be as much as 3 years should there be circumstances of aggravation.
A prison sentence is the most severe punishment that can be handed down when you are convicted of a crime. In some circumstances, it can also be accompanied by a hefty fine.
If you are sentenced to prison in court, you will be taken immediately to a holding cell where you will be processed and wait to be transported to the appropriate prison facility.
Suspended sentence
You may recieve a suspended sentence when found guilty of common assault in court.
A suspended sentence is a prison sentence that is not put into immediate effect which means that you are not required to go to prison and you are released to live in the community.
However suspended sentences comes with conditions. If you commit a crime while on a suspended sentence, you will be sent to prison to serve the sentence. Suspended sentences are also often accompanied by another penalty, such as a fine or community based order.
It is possible to have a partially suspended prison sentence. This means that you do go to prison immediately upon sentencing however, you will be released after a designated period of time to serve the remainder of your sentence in the community.
A suspended sentence is recorded on your criminal record and can have serious consequences if you are seeking a job or trying to enter other countries. Often prison sentences are a bar to many jobs and eligibility for Visa’s
Community service
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Fine
The maximum fine for a common assault in Western Australia is $18,000 although this could be as much as $36,000 where there are circumstances of aggravation.
A fine may be handed down by the court as your whole punishment or in conjunction with another penalty.
Upon receiving a fine it must be paid immediately or you can apply to the court for time-to-pay, which enables you to pay the fine in regular instalments. You must apply for the time-to-pay option if you are unable to pay it in full immediately and the court may require documentary proof of your financial circumstances. The court’s decision for a time-to-pay application is final.
Prohibited behaviour order
You may be issued with a PBO if convicted of common assault
Prohibited behaviour orders (‘PBO’) are orders made by the court that impose certain restrictions on persons with a history of anti-social behaviour.
PBOs are issued in order to reduce the likelihood of the person committing future anti-social offences. For example, a serial graffiti offender might be banned from using public transport, a shoplifter might be banned from a shopping precinct, or a violent offender might be banned from being out after dark or drinking alcohol. The order can only be made on persons 16 years or older.
The orders will generally be publicised unless ordered otherwise by a court. The constrained person will have their name, a photograph, their town or suburb, and the constraints imposed by the PBO made public on a government website. This is done so the community can assist the police in ensuring the orders are complied with and identify any breaches. The details of the constrained persons can be found at http://www.pbo.wa.gov.au.
It is a criminal offence to breach PBO and carries a penalty of a fine and/or imprisonment. The maximum penalty is five years imprisonment, or 2 years in the case of a minor.
Know Your Settlement Entitlements.
Don't let your ex dictate what you are entitled to. You have legal rights, arm yourself with knowledge before negotiating.
Our Settlement Lawyers Can Help
Meet with lawyers who understand the system and can easily explain your settlement options.
- Past Cases
- Good Results
- Happy Clients
Our process
FreePhone case assessment
Lets talk about your situation confidentially. We will discuss the alledged common assault in detail to understand what happened and be able to tell you if we can help or not. Get the process started now, by requesting a free call back.
Book appointment with a specialist lawyer
If it's clear consulting a solicitor you will help your situation, we can identify the right one for your case and arrange a convenient appointment for you. We will review any documents you send us, and brief the solicitor before you arrive to maximise your time with them.
In depth consultation
At your meeting the solicitor will be able to indicate the outcome they expect to achieve and the legal pathway they would take with you to ensure the best possible result based off past cases and experience. Possible defences will be explored and all of your questions answered.
Sound legal advice & pathway forward
Armed with sound legal advice and a fixed fee quote for respresentation throughout the process you can then decide if you would like them to act on your behalf to drop charges or represent you in court.
Know Your Settlement Entitlements.
Don't let your ex dictate what you are entitled to. You have legal rights, arm yourself with knowledge before negotiating.
Our Settlement Lawyers Can Help
Meet with lawyers who understand the system and can easily explain your settlement options.
- Past Cases
- Good Results
- Happy Clients
The law
Finding yourself charged with common assault can be a worrying and stressful period in your life. We have been through this process with many clients and understand you need to gain a clear legal pathway to put your mind at rest quickly so you can focus on gaining the best posible result. Our process for clients who have a matter relating to common assault is simple, transparent and listed below.
The Law
Each party to a case has a duty to the court and to each other party to give full and frank disclosure of all information relevant to the case, in a timely manner.
In Plain English
The duty of disclosure is your duty to provide the other parties in your case with all information and documents which are relevant to the issues in the case.
If your situation changes or more documents are created or come into your possession, you will need to make sure that the other party knows about them and the information they contain. The duty begins with the pre-action procedure, before you make an application to the court and continues until your case is finalised.
Know Your Settlement Entitlements.
Don't let your ex dictate what you are entitled to. You have legal rights, arm yourself with knowledge before negotiating.
Our Settlement Lawyers Can Help
Meet with lawyers who understand the system and can easily explain your settlement options.
- Past Cases
- Good Results
- Happy Clients
Obligations
There are a number of defences that might be applicable to a common assault charge. Some defences may be more obvious than others, deciding if any of the defences listed below would apply to your case and be accepted in court should it reach a trial should only be considered after gaining proper common assault legal advice. It's important to remember should you attempt to use a defence that does not properly apply you could face a conviction that you may otherwise not have.
Disclosure obligations
Duty of disclosure requires all parties to a family law dispute to provide to each other party all information relevant to an issue in the case. This information includes but is not limited to.
- Electronic information
- Paper documents
- Court documents
- Documents other parties may not know about
The rules of disclosure in financial and property matters are in addition to the general disclosure requirements. In financial and property matters it is required that the following is disclosed.
- All sources of earnings
- Financial interests
- Income
- Property
- Other financial resources
- Property disposal (sale, transfer, assignment or gift) made within a year before separation or after separation.
Undertaking regarding your disclosure
During your matter, you may be required to sign and undertaking as to your disclosure obligations. By signing the undertaking you are acknowledging that you:
- Have read the Family Law Rules in relation to disclosure; and
- Are aware of your duty to the Court and each other party to give full and frank disclosure of all information relevant to the issues in the case, in a timely manner.
- Have complied with the duty of disclosure, to the best of your knowledge and ability; and
- Acknowledge that breach of the undertaking may be contempt of court.
You must not make a statement or sign an undertaking if you know, or should reasonably know, that it is false or misleading.
Financial statement
As part of your duty of disclosure you are required to file a Financial Statement (Form 13), in cases involving financial issues. Where completing the form does not provide sufficient information to enable you to provide full disclosure you are required to also file an affidavit with the other information.
If your financial circumstances change after you file the Financial Statement you must file an amended statement.
Penalties for failing
The court has serious penalties for failure to disclose information or for giving misleading or false information. They may:
- Refuse you permission to use the information or document as evidence in your matter
- Postpone or dismiss all or part of your matter
- Make you pay the other parties legal fees
- Fine or imprison you for being found guilty of contempt of the court.
Property settlement disclosure questions
If you have been charged we are sure you will have lots of questions.
Some of the most popular ones past clients ask are listed below.
What do you do if my spouse is not providing documents?
If you are seeking particular documents from your spouse, you must provide written notice of which documents you are seeking.
What if I find out about hidden assets after settlement?
Depending on the type and value of the hidden assets, it may be that you will need to make an application to the Family Court to vary the final orders that were made.
What if valuable assets are sold to someone else?
The court may look at the types of property sold after separation if it is deemed to be an intentional attempt of one party to minimise the asset pool. If there was money received by the sale of the property, the funds may be added into the asset pool for division.
Our Lawyer’s Results
Get the best possible outcome with our team.
Some recent outcomes are below.
Outstanding Trial Result – Perth Man
After trial in the Family Court of WA, Perth man who was a 66 year old man retained an overall percentage division of 90%. His former wife, a 44 year old woman retained 10%. This was a short marriage with no children of the marriage. There were few non-financial contributions, if any. Perth man made the overwhelming financial contributions in this marriage, both initially and during the marriage.
Negotiation Master Class – Perth Woman
After negotiations and an informal conference, a 49 year old woman, obtained her desired outcome from a 7 year defacto relationship with a 48 year old man. She made the majority of the homemaker and nonfinancial contributions throughout the relationship, and there were no children. Legal costs were kept to a minimum throughout these negotiations.
Agreement Made – Perth Woman
After negotiations, the parties reached an agreement and Perth man, a 56 year old women retained 71% of the asset pool. Perth man was married to the husband, a 49 year old man, for 29 years. There were 2 children of the marriage, both over 18 years. Perth man had severe health issues which impacted on her ability to work and the husband was on a high income.
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