It comes after a string of violent assaults in Civic, including the most recent attack outside Academy nightclub last Sunday.

Police released disturbing footage of a man, who remains on the run, who punched another young man to the ground after the offender was refused entry to the nightclub because he was drunk.

National president of the Australian Federal Police Association, which represents ACT police, Jon Hunt-Sharman, urged the Legislative Assembly to "seriously consider" one-punch legislation in the capital.

"Police too often see the tragic consequences for innocent young people out enjoying themselves of an evening when they are hit without warning, without provocation," he said.

"The result is a death or permanent brain injury, followed by a lifetime of sorrow and misery for family and friends.

"I know that the ACT Attorney-General will argue that we already have assault laws, but we need to send a very clear and simple message to offenders and potential offenders: a violent punch to the head can kill or cause permanent brain damage either from the punch itself, or from the subsequent smashing of the victim's skull on the pavement or other hard surface.

"A special offence will help highlight how deplorable our community finds this kind of behaviour."

Mr Hunt-Sharman said last weekend's attack was shocking, but not an isolated incident.

"On April 21 this year, a similar attack occurred outside the same nightclub, leaving a man with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.

"In a separate incident, a man is facing a retrial in the ACT Supreme Court for punching an Irish tourist causing his victim serious brain injury."

A recent national study found there had been 90 deaths due to one-punch assaults in Australia since 2000, most related to alcohol-fuelled bashings.

NSW had the highest number of king-hits, with 28, followed by Victoria and Queensland, each with 24 cases.

The Victorian Parliament this week passed new "coward's punch" legislation that will lead to people found guilty of punching someone in the head without warning, resulting in death, guilty of manslaughter and liable to a mandatory 10-year minimum jail sentence.

In January, NSW Parliament passed legislation aimed at reducing alcohol-related violence in the Sydney CBD, including one-punch laws.

The laws included an eight-year mandatory jail sentence for any offender who fatally punched someone while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Those sentencing rules apply regardless of whether the victim's death was caused directly by the punch, or by the person hitting their head on the ground.

But University of Wollongong senior law lecturer Dr Julia Quilter✓, who has researched one-punch laws and alcohol-related violence, has questioned whether the laws are effective.

She said one-punch laws in other Australian jurisdictions were often introduced following outrage over sentences given to offenders for king-hit deaths, which led to legislation that was "symbolic" and "full of holes".

Dr Quilter said one-punch laws also showed a lack of faith in existing legislation and in the justice system.

Opposition leader Jeremy Hanson this week said the government should look at the impact of one-punch legislation in NSW and consider whether similar laws would be appropriate in the territory.

Attorney-General Simon Corbell says he will consider all proposals put forward in the recent ACT liquor law review, including changes to operating hours and outlet density, to combat alcohol-related violence.

He would also consider suggestions from Victims of Crime Commissioner John Hinchey, who this week called for greater powers for police to issue move-on notices to agitated revellers, and for the territory's most violent venues to be "named and shamed" and subject to tougher penalties and restrictions.