A man has been accused of bashing his head into his partner's eye and fracturing a bone in her face after she refused to give him a cigarette in an allegedly gratuitous attack.
The man allegedly headbutted the wall of the partner's home multiple times, causing significant damage, before he turned on the woman.
On Friday, in the ACT Magistrates Court, the alleged abuser did not enter pleas to family violence charges of intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm and aggravated property damage.
While special magistrate Marcus Hassall described photos of the woman's injury as "disturbing", he granted the man bail with conditions, including not to drink alcohol.
Mr Hassal noted police said the alleged assault was "gratuitous, unexpected and alarming", and the woman herself reported being shocked by the event.
"Why anyone would behave that way towards someone they supposedly care for," the special magistrate said.
The prosecutor alleged the "unprovoked" assault began in the woman's home on October 29, when she refused to give her partner a cigarette.
It is said the man became violent and started headbutting a wall in a hallway, causing damage that was "quite visible, quite clear".
When the woman tried to intervene, the man allegedly headbutted her in the face, causing her to fall backwards.
The alleged violence left the woman with a fractured bone near her eye, the court heard, and the left side of her face would inflate with air when she tried to blow her nose.
The prosecutor also noted the man was on a good behaviour bond at the time of the alleged attack for similar family violence crimes involving the same partner.
The court heard the man's criminal history included property damage in a family violence context, and he had problems with alcohol.
Legal Aid lawyer Sam Brown argued while it was "undoubtedly" serious alleged offending, it was not a sophisticated case of family violence.
The man had since terminated the relationship with his partner and she had not voiced concerns for her safety, he said.
"Violence in its purist sense ... [that] doesn't involve any coercion or insidious features," Mr Brown said.
The man is set to face court again at a later date.
