Jacob Gough, 26, was sentenced to two years imprisonment with a one year non-parole term for the attack at a hearing at the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on November 16, 2023.

At a hearing at the County Court in Ballarat on Monday, Gough successfully appealed the sentence, arguing for a lesser sentence combined with a time on a community corrections order.

The offending in question occurred on September 6, 2022, when Gough had his former partner drive him to a house in Nerrina to confront a man he was having an argument with.

Gough and the man had a scuffle inside of the house, after which he was seen wearing a face covering and holding a machete.

Blood lay in a large pool on the floor and was splattered across furniture.

Gough's ex-partner took the man, who had serious wounds, to the Ballarat Base Hospital where he had surgery on a cut to his femoral artery.

Gough was charged with recklessly causing serious injury, among other charges.

He also pleaded guilty to an incident on December 4, 2021, where he confronted his ex-partner, her partner and her two children with a knife at a Humffray Street bottle shop.

Gough stabbed the outside of the family's car as they sat outside of the bottle shop, forcing them to speed away.

They were pursued from behind, then rammed by Gough twice while they tried to perform a U-turn.

The car was written off after the attack, and the couple and their children were forced to shelter with family members in Ballarat East.

All together, Gough was given a sentence of two years imprisonment with one year non-parole by Magistrate Hugh Radford.

On Monday, Gough lodged an appeal to his sentence at the County Court, where Judge Liz Gaynor heard arguments for why the sentence should be reduced.

At the hearing, Gough's barrister Jacqui Hession told the court her client had demonstrated his ability to rehabilitate during the two-year period between his arrest and sentence, where he completed the court integrated services program.

Ms Hession told the court Gough had a history of mental illness, anger issues and had attempted to take his own life several times in the past.

The barrister asked for Gough's prison sentence to be reduced, and combined with a community corrections order, which would monitor Gough on release from prison.

Judge Gaynor however said Gough would still need to serve some prison time, due to the "seriousness" of the charges.

"It is very nasty offending," Judge Gaynor said.

"That incident, little children in the car... there are reports about PTSD, those children will have it now thanks to your client, it is going to be their lives.

"I can see why the magistrate did what he did."

The Judge also said Gough was "lucky" the victim survived the machete attack, and he wasn't facing a longer sentence.

"The level of violence is so high... if that bloke had died from the machete, it would be murder or manslaughter," Judge Gaynor said.

"On manslaughter he would be looking at 15 (years), murder he would be looking at 25 (years) with a 20 (non-parole).

"This is the level he has got himself to, and he really needs to understand that."

Judge Gaynor said she would allow Gough to appeal the sentence, and offered him an eight month sentence with a two year community corrections order afterwards.

Gough took the new sentence, and will reappear in court after an assessment by corrections.

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