Author: Jon Ross
Practice area: assault & violence
Jon is a Senior Associate at Doogue + George with extensive experience in criminal defence across Victorian courts. His depth of experience in this area means clients receive accurate, considered advice.
View full profile →Jon authored this content and last revised it for accuracy on 15th September 2026.
What is the offence of Home Invasion?
Home Invasion is a Victorian offence under section 77A of the Crimes Act 1958. It is committed when a person enters someone's home as a trespasser, intending to steal or to commit a serious assault or damage offence inside, and does so with at least one other person. There must also be either a weapon carried in at the time of entry, or another person present in the home while the accused is there.
Key points
- What the prosecution must prove - Entry to a home as a trespasser, an intention at the time of entry to steal or commit a listed offence, entry with at least one other person, and either a weapon or another person present.
- What the law covers - Houses and units, but also motel and hotel rooms, rooming houses, rooms in hospitals and residential care, caravans, and any vehicle or vessel used as a residence.
- Court level - County Court or Supreme Court. This charge cannot be heard in the Magistrates' Court.
Maximum penalty - The maximum penalty for Home Invasion is level 2 imprisonment (25 years).
Common defences - Common defences may include mistaken identity, a factual dispute, an argument that you were not a trespasser, an argument that you did not have the required intention when you entered, and an argument that you were not acting in company.
Have you or a family member been charged with Home Invasion? This charge carries a real risk of prison and there are strict bail rules. Call our office to arrange a conference with one of our criminal defence lawyers.
Police Interview
Where police suspect you took part in a home invasion, expect to be asked in for an interview. By that point they usually have witness statements, forensic results, phone records or CCTV in hand. Whatever you tell them can be used against you later. Home invasion is rarely charged against one person alone, so your answers can damage a co-accused and theirs can damage you. Police are well aware of this, which is why they tend to interview each person on their own. Get legal advice before agreeing to sit down with them. We can come to the station with you.
Bail
Home Invasion is a Schedule 1 offence under the Bail Act 1977. It was moved into Schedule 1 by amendments that commenced on 26 August 2025, alongside armed robbery, aggravated burglary and carjacking. That means bail must be refused unless you satisfy the bail decision maker that exceptional circumstances exist justifying a grant of bail. The burden sits with you, and it is the highest threshold in Victorian bail law. If exceptional circumstances are established, the court then considers separately whether you are an unacceptable risk.
Get advice before any application is made. You usually get one properly prepared attempt.
Pleading Not Guilty
Home invasion has several separate elements, and the prosecution must prove every one of them beyond reasonable doubt. That gives a defence team more than one place to look. If you instruct us to defend the charge, we will examine the brief and consider matters such as:
- Whether you can be identified as one of the people who entered.
- Whether you entered as a trespasser, or had permission to be there.
- What you intended at the moment of entry, as distinct from anything that happened afterwards.
- Whether you were truly acting in company with another person.
- Whether you had a weapon with you when you entered.
Our firm has run hundreds of trials in the County and Supreme Courts, so we are used to handling serious matters and getting good results for our clients
Pleading Guilty
Get advice before you decide to plead guilty. Home Invasion is a category 2 offence under the Sentencing Act 1991, which means the court must impose a custodial order unless one of a limited set of exceptions in section 5(2H) applies.
Where the evidence is strong there is still real work to do. We may be able to negotiate with the prosecution about the summary of offending, about your role compared with your co-accused, or about resolving the matter to a lesser charge such as burglary or aggravated burglary. We will also help you get together the material a court will want to see
Sentencing
Sentencing outcomes in the higher courts of Victoria
Source: Sentencing Advisory Council of Victoria (SACStat), Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 77A(1) — 203 charges across 156 cases, higher courts, 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2024.
Sentencing outcome | % |
Imprisonment | 80.3% |
Community correction order | 10.3% |
Youth justice centre order | 5.9% |
Other | 3.4% |
These figures show that imprisonment is the usual outcome for home invasion in the higher courts. Community correction orders and youth justice centre orders are imposed in a smaller number of cases. The sentence will depend on factors such as your role in the offending, the level of planning, whether anyone was hurt or threatened, your age and your personal circumstances.
Which court will the case be heard in?
Home Invasion is a strictly indictable offence. It does not appear in Schedule 2 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009, which lists the indictable offences a magistrate can deal with summarily, and its 25 year maximum is far beyond the Magistrates’ Court’s sentencing power.
If the accused is under 18, recent Victorian reforms have changed which court deals with serious youth charges. If you are a young person or a parent, ask us how the current rules apply.
Examples of Home Invasion
- Three people force the front door of a house late at night to look for car keys. One is carrying a screwdriver they intend to use on anyone who tries to stop them. The occupants are asleep upstairs.
- Two people go into a share house to take a laptop, believing everyone is out for the evening. A housemate is asleep in a back bedroom.
- Two people push their way into a motel room intending to assault the occupant over a debt.
- Two people enter a caravan that someone is living in, intending to smash the fittings inside.
What is the legal definition of Home Invasion?
Under section 77A(1) of the Crimes Act 1958, a person commits a home invasion if the person enters a home as a trespasser with intent to steal anything in the home, or to commit an offence punishable by imprisonment for five years or more involving an assault to a person in the home or damage to the home or property in it. The person must enter in company with one or more other persons. In addition, the person must either have a firearm, imitation firearm, offensive weapon, explosive or imitation explosive with them at the time of entry, or another person other than a co-offender must be present in the home at some time while the person is there.
Section 77A(2) makes clear that it does not matter whether the accused knew there was, or would be, another person in the home.
Legislation
The legislation for this offence can be found in section 77A of the Crimes Act 1958.
Elements of the offence
The prosecution must prove each of the following beyond reasonable doubt.
- The accused entered a home
- The accused entered as a trespasser
- The accused had the required intention at the time of entry
- The accused entered in company with one or more other persons
Defences
Possible defences include
- mistaken identity
- a factual dispute
- not a trespasser because you had permission or a right to enter
Lack of the necessary intention at the time you entered
and discuss your case if you have been charged. Whether to plead guilty or not guilty has major implications for you, and the decision should be made after proper discussion with a criminal lawyer.
Questions in cases like this
- Did you enter the home, and were you a trespasser when you entered?
- What did you intend to do at the moment you entered?
- Were you acting with other people?
- Were you carrying anything the law treats as a weapon, or was somebody else inside?
Maximum penalty for section 77A of the Crimes Act 1958
Home Invasion (s77A of the Crimes Act 1958) is a strictly indictable offence carrying level 2 imprisonment, a maximum of 25 years.
It is also a category 2 offence under the Sentencing Act 1991, so a court must impose a custodial order unless one of the limited exceptions in section 5(2H) applies. Those exceptions cover assistance to law enforcement, impaired mental functioning, a proposed treatment order, or circumstances that are substantial, compelling, exceptional and rare. That last exception is set deliberately high, and the Act directs courts to give greater weight to deterrence and denunciation than to your personal circumstances.
Other important resources
FAQs for Home Invasion
What is home invasion in Victoria?
It is an offence under section 77A of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic). It involves entering a home as a trespasser with at least one other person, intending to steal or commit a serious assault or damage offence inside, while either carrying a weapon or while another person is in the home.
Can one person commit a home invasion alone?
No. Section 77A(1)(b) requires entry in company with one or more other persons. If you acted alone the charge is not made out, though burglary or aggravated burglary may still be. You can be found guilty even if nobody else is prosecuted or convicted.
Does it count if nobody was home?
It can. If you carried a weapon in, the offence can be made out even if the house was empty. If you were not armed, the prosecution must prove another person was in the home at some point while you were there.
Do I have to know somebody was inside?
No. Section 77A(2) says it does not matter whether you knew there was, or would be, another person in the home. This is a key difference from aggravated burglary, which does require knowledge or recklessness.
What counts as a "home"?
The definition is broad. Alongside houses and units it covers motel and hotel rooms and other paid temporary accommodation, rooming houses, rooms provided in residential care services and hospitals, parts of commercial or industrial premises used as residences, caravans, and any vehicle or vessel used as a residence.
Can I get bail?
It is difficult. Since 26 August 2025 home invasion has been a Schedule 1 offence under the Bail Act 1977, so bail must be refused unless you establish exceptional circumstances justifying a grant. Preparation matters a great deal in these applications.
