Summary Offences Act 1981, s 9; Crimes Act 1961, s 196
If you’re charged with a basic assault charge – “common assault” – this can either be under:
the Summary Offences Act 1981 (section 9), with a maximum penalty of six months’ jail or a fine of up to $4,000, or
in more serious cases, the Crimes Act 1961 (section 196), which has a maximum penalty of up to one year’s jail.
If you plead not guilty, you’ll have a trial in the District Court in front of a judge, and you won’t have the right to a jury trial. This is because these are both Category 2 offences, the processes for the four different categories are explained in the chapter “The criminal courts”, under “Overview of how the criminal courts work”.
Note: It’s quite common for the police to bring a charge under the more serious Crimes Act assault provision, and to then agree with the defendant to reduce it to Summary Offences Act assault if the defendant pleads guilty. Informally this is sometimes called “plea bargaining”.