Police have urged residents to ensure their doors are locked, even if they are home, after the attacker was able to enter the woman's Gaythorne house through the rear entrance about 11.30am on Wednesday.

He approached the woman from behind while she was folding her laundry and then began to assault her.

Detective Senior Sergeant Michael Jones said the man also indecently assaulted the victim during the ordeal.

"After she managed to fight him off he fled through the backyard and the rear of the property towards the Marcellin College sports fields," he said.

Nothing was stolen from the home.

The woman was left with an injured jaw, however Senior Sergeant Jones said she was resolute and recovering well.

The male attacker has been described as being aged 18 to 25 with dark skin. He was wearing a dark hoodie and dark shorts and was barefoot, and some witnesses in the area said he was wearing a beanie.

Police have interviewed local council workers in the area who claimed to have seen the man, and have also doorknocked the neighbourhood. Investigators are scouring security footage from the area.

Senior Sergeant Jones said the incident appeared to be an isolated one, and similar crimes were not common in the area.

"It's quite a rare thing and for that reason we are concerned about it and we're putting a lot of resources to try and find out who's committed this offence," he said.

"We're not getting a lot of information at this point in time so we'd appeal for anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers."