A family in rural Victoria is too afraid to return home after armed intruders broke into their house and sexually assaulted a woman, police say.
Investigators are looking for two men who broke into a rural Lancefield property in the Macedon Ranges early on Friday.
The men entered the property around 2am armed with a gun and wearing dark-coloured balaclavas and yellow fluorescent vests with the word "police" on them.
They woke up a 36-year-old woman and 42-year-old man and tied their wrists and legs with gaffer tape before searching the house for money.
One of the men sexually assaulted the woman.
A child was also in the house but did not have any interaction with the intruders, police say.
Nothing was stolen from the house and investigators believe it could have been mistakenly targeted.
"The victims in this case are just average, everyday people who had no idea what was going on, who were woken in the middle of the night by these men, and were extremely scared," said Sexual Crime Squad Detective Sergeant Shane Manuell on Saturday.
Police are trying to determine whether the vests the attackers wore were real.
"We don't know whether those vests were actually authentic vests or home made," said Det Sgt Manuell.
He said the victims are distraught.
"They're understandably upset ... and frightened to go back home."
