Leading Senior Constable Nicole Munro, 47, and Senior Constable Steven Repac, 27, allegedly assaulted Yvonne Berry on January 15, 2015, after she was arrested for being drunk in a public place and held in a Ballarat police cell.

The trial will be held at the County Court at Ballarat in the circuit starting on October 22.

It is expected to run for three weeks and hear from 18 witnesses - 15 of whom are police and emergency service workers.

At a directions hearing in Melbourne on Friday, Judge Gerard Mullaly raised issues around successfully empaneling a jury in Ballarat, given the city's size.

"In any small location, the witnesses usually come from the place," Judge Mullaly said.

But Munro and Repac's barristers told the court their clients wished to have the trial held in Ballarat.

Prosecutors agreed, saying they were not applying to change the venue.

Munro was excused from Friday's hearing, while Repac appeared by video link from a Ballarat court room.

Munro and Repac pleaded not guilty to assault charges in September.

Munro faces one count of assault by kicking the victim.

Repac faces one count of assault by standing on the victim's left ankle and landing heavily on the right ankle, and one count of assault by kicking the victim.

The pair's bail was extended to August 8, 2018, when a final directions hearing will be held in Melbourne.