New penalties for attacking NSW Ambulance and healthcare workers, prison officers

The new offences will mean that maximum jail terms for assaulting a frontline emergency worker will be in line with those for attacking police.

People who assault healthcare workers, prison officers, emergency services staff and volunteers will face tough new penalties by the end of the year.

The new offences will mean people who wound healthcare workers will face up to 12 years in prison, or 14 years if the assault occurs during a “public disorder”.

Wounding a prison guard during a riot could also lead to 14 years in jail.

The crackdown will mean that penalties for assaulting a frontline worker will be aligned with assaults on police.

Police Minister Paul Toole said the new offences recognise the importance of frontline and emergency services workers to the state.

Frontline emergency workers at St Vincent Hospital in Sydney. Picture: Jeremy Piper

“Our frontline emergency service workers, including our men and women in blue, put their lives on the line every day, going above and beyond to protect and serve the community,” Mr Toole said.

“Aligning the penalties for assaulting emergency service workers with the penalties for assaulting NSW police officers reflects their importance in our community, and will help safeguard against unruly culprits who think they are above the law.”

A NSW Corrective Services Officer gets ready for a strip search in the Silverwater processing centre. Picture: Adam Taylor

Extra penalties for people who assault prison guards come after officers walked off the job last month over anger about sentences handed to an inmate who took a guard hostage at knifepoint.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said: “Our frontline emergency workers perform an essential public service in keeping our community safe and protecting lives, property and health.

“They keep us safe and we will do whatever we can to keep them safe too,” he said.

Assaults on firefighters from the NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue NSW and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service will also be covered by the new offences, alongside assaults on NSW State Emergency Service frontline workers.

Under the new offences, “obstructing or hindering a frontline health worker” carries a maximum penalty of a year in prison, a $2200 fine, or both. Assaulting a frontline health worker will carry a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, with the maximum penalties increasing with the severity of the assault.

Police and tactical response officers on duty after a NSW police officer was assaulted in Gladesville in November. Picture: Toby Zerna

A recommendation to double the maximum fine for resisting arrest or hindering a police officer has been supported “in principle”.

The new laws are part of the government’s response to the NSW Sentencing Council’s review into assaults on emergency service workers, and will be legislated by the end of the year. The state government will support, in full or in principle, all of the recommendations from the report.