Ali Shah Khalili, 45, faced Shepparton's County Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury to his son Mohammod Khalili, who was 19 at the time of the incident.
Crown Prosecutor Nick Batten told the court prior to the offending the relationship between Khalili and his son had deteriorated due to the accused's belief that his son was lazy.
Mr Batten said on August 6 last year Khalili entered his son's bedroom where a verbal argument began about Mohammod not helping with chores around the house.
The court heard Khalili attempted to grab the cat his son was playing with at the time, saying he was going to kill it.
Mohammod tried to stop his father from grabbing the cat by putting him in a headlock, making it hard for him to breathe.
The court heard this made Khalili angry and caused him to lose his temper.
After Mohammod let his father go, Mr Batten said Khalili went outside to grab a screwdriver before chasing Mohammod next door to the neighbour's house.
Mr Batten said Mohammod banged on the neighbour's front door to get away from his father, however the door was locked.
The court heard Mohammod dropped to the ground in a fetal position to protect himself, before Khalili stabbed his son three times to the right scapula puncturing his lung, his head and his left thigh.
Mr Batten said Khalili then left the scene before the neighbour came to the front door and called 000.
Mohammod was taken to Goulburn Valley Health with life-threatening injuries, where he underwent surgery for his punctured lung and suturing for multiple stab wounds, the court heard.
Mr Batten said police attended Khalili's address shortly after where the accused told police he stabbed his son with a screwdriver that was out the back of the house, and that he had washed it in the kitchen sink before putting it back in the tool box.
The court heard Khalili was arrested and interviewed by police that night and has been in custody since the incident.
Mr Batten tendered a victim impact statement in court on Monday, which he said highlighted the physical and emotional impacts Mohammod had suffered following the incident.
“(Mohammod) was very vulnerable by the time he is stabbed, he was cowering defensively at a neighbour's door seeking refuge,” Mr Batten said.
Khalili's defence counsel, Tony Cooper, spoke in depth about his client's past, which he described in his submissions as a "traumatic personal history".
Mr Cooper said his client, who was born in Afghanistan, witnessed his father being executed, experienced childhood physical abuse, and was imprisoned and tortured by the Taliban.
The court heard Khalili arrived in Australia by boat, where he worked for many years before a work-related injury forced him to stop, leaving him with chronic ongoing back issues.
Mr Cooper told the court his client's mental history included a diagnosis of severe chronic post traumatic stress disorder and major depression.
Mr Cooper urged Judge Frank Gucciardo to take into account the accused's early plea of guilty, saying his client made full admissions following the incident and expressed remorse in his record of interview.
“I do regret what happened ... I never wanted but it just happened ... I want to stay away and I don't want to destroy their happiness,” Khalili said during his record of interview.
“I couldn't control myself ... I didn't flee, I did not run away I stayed and wanted to confess.”
Mr Cooper told the court his client had "very strong support in the local community" submitting two references attesting to his general character.
Khalili, who has no prior criminal history, will be sentenced next Thursday.