"It is true to say that without [his] care and advice over the past few years I would not have been as confident and supported in taking on the sexist and abusive behaviour I have been subjected to as a woman in the Australian parliament," she wrote.

According to court documents seen by the Herald, the man and his wife had engaged in a series of disagreements in the lead-up to an incident on December 23 last year, when both had "had a few drinks".

The facts state the man "grabbed" his partner and "started pushing her towards the couch".

She then "tried to hit" him while she was being pushed but was "overpowered". The man then "pushed" his wife onto the couch "in an attempt to stop her yelling", before he "slapped [her] with an open hand on the left side of the face".

Ms Hanson-Young, who has previously said there were "no excuses" for domestic violence and the assault of women, said she could not "reconcile the person I know as acting in any way criminally" and said she was confident it would not happen again.