At
common law,
battery is the
tort of intentionally (or, in
Australia, negligently) and voluntarily bringing about an unconsented harmful or offensive contact with a person or to something closely associated with them (e.g. a hat, a purse). Unlike
assault, battery involves an actual contact. The contact can be by one person (the
tortfeasor) of another (the victim), or the contact may be by an object brought about by the tortfeasor. For example, the intentional contact by a car is a battery.