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Contemporary knowledge from the Insurance coverage Council of Australia (ICA) at this time exhibits the variety of motorcar theft claims decreased in each state over the past monetary yr besides Victoria – which noticed the most important annual enhance on report.
Insurance coverage Statistics Australia (ISA) knowledge from New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia has reaffirmed Victoria because the nation’s car-theft capital.
The southern state recorded a 59 per cent enhance in motor theft claims and a 70 per cent enhance in incurred prices – with greater than 12,000 claims totalling $223 million within the 12 months to June 2025.
Metro Victoria accounted for almost all of the claims and noticed the most important enhance. Claims had been up 70 per cent and prices up 80 per cent; with 10,000 claims totalling $183 million in insured losses.
Nationally, the variety of motor theft claims elevated by 11 per cent to 30,000 claims totalling $466 million, up 20 per cent on the earlier 12-month interval.
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Queensland noticed the most important discount in motor theft claims (down 11 per cent to 6000), totalling $104 million in losses (down 10 per cent), marking the most important drop the state has seen in additional than a decade.
Declare numbers fell by 10 per cent in Western Australia and South Australia, and three.0 per cent in NSW – lowering to 4000, 1300 and 5800 respectively.
The incidence of motorcar theft as a share of complete motor insurance coverage insurance policies (theft declare frequency) additionally decreased in all states besides Victoria, the place it elevated from 0.26 to 0.45 per cent in metro Victoria.
“Motor theft claims have been climbing considerably during the last decade, and whereas they solely make up a small a part of total motor claims, this can be a rising concern,” mentioned ICA CEO Andrew Corridor.
“Everybody pays for automobile theft, by means of elevated prices of policing, courts and finally insurance coverage. We can not settle for this degree of automobile crime as regular in Australia.
“It’s encouraging to see automobile crime claims on the decline in majority of states and the reductions in Queensland, which was beforehand main the nation on the will increase, are significantly pleasing.
“Insurers are in ongoing dialog with legislation enforcement businesses and proceed to share knowledge the place applicable.”
The spike in car thefts nationally and particularly in Victoria echoes the rise in theft extra usually throughout Australia – additionally led by Victoria – as shoplifting turns into extra brazen.
In keeping with new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), theft charges soared throughout the nation in 2024, reaching their highest peak in additional than 20 years.
Practically 600,000 thefts had been recorded nationally final yr – essentially the most since 2003 and near the 700,000 peak recorded in 2001.
Victoria recorded the largest enhance of 29 per cent, adopted by Tasmania (up 11 per cent).
The ABS knowledge confirmed retail thefts rose from 32 per cent of all thefts in 2010 to 45 per cent in 2024. Meantime, thefts from properties fell to 25 per cent (down from 30 per cent in 2010) and reported motorcar thefts elevated by 8.0 per cent to 65,603 in 2024.
Separate knowledge from the Crime Statistics Company exhibits total offending in Victoria jumped by 15 per cent within the 12 months to March 2025.
Whereas normal crime elevated by 15.2 per cent to 8839 per 100,000 Victorians, property and deception offences elevated essentially the most (up practically 24 per cent to 370,587 offences).
Of about 240,000 thefts (up 58,000), virtually 83,000 had been thefts from autos.
“There have been 595,660 recorded victims of theft in 2024. These thefts, which incorporates issues like shoplifting and pickpocketing, however not motorcar thefts, have been regularly rising since a drop throughout 2020 when COVID-19 restrictions had been launched,” mentioned ABS head of crime and justice statistics, Samantha Corridor.
Chief statistician Fiona Dowsley mentioned: “Theft offences have continued to rise sharply, with practically 1 / 4 of 1,000,000 offences recorded within the final yr.
“Will increase had been largest for thefts from motor autos and retail shops, with many of those offences linked to repeat offending.”
