Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

DEFENCE FORCE DISCIPLINE ACT 1982 - SECT 25

  (1)   A defence member commits an offence if:

  (a)   the member assaults a person; and

  (b)   that person is a superior officer.

Maximum punishment:   Imprisonment for 2 years.

  (2)   Strict liability applies to paragraph   (1)(b).

Note:   For strict liability , see section   6.1 of the Criminal Code .

  (3)   It is a defence if the member proves that he or she neither knew, nor could reasonably be expected to have known, that the person against whom the offence is alleged to have been committed was a superior officer.

Note:   The defendant bears a legal burden in relation to the matter in subsection   (3). See section   13.4 of the Criminal Code .