{"id":713800,"date":"2026-06-04T02:12:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T02:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/713800\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T02:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T02:12:15","slug":"melbourne-car-theft-data-melbourne-has-more-car-thefts-than-rest-of-the-country-combined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/713800\/","title":{"rendered":"Melbourne car theft data: Melbourne has more car thefts than rest of the country combined"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Angus<\/p>\n

Updated June 4, 2026 \u2014 11:12am,first published June 4, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n

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Victoria is the car-theft capital of Australia, with more insurance claims for stolen cars lodged in Melbourne than all other capital cities combined last year.<\/p>\n

Payouts for stolen cars in Victoria last year totalled $243 million across 12,500 claims, more than the rest of Australia put together, new data from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) shows. It also found a car is stolen or broken into every 42 minutes in Victoria.<\/p>\n

\"ContractorContractor Matt Jones had his car stolen in April, with his tools, wallet and sentimental mementos inside. Justin McManus<\/p>\n

Victoria recorded a 25 per cent increase in the number of motor-theft insurance claims year-on-year, as well as a 37 per cent rise in total payouts. Claims in the other states fell by double digits, with Victoria alone bucking the trend. The sharpest rise was in Melbourne, with the number of claims in regional Victoria remaining steady.<\/p>\n

In Melbourne, people made 10,400 claims for stolen cars last year, eclipsing the claims made in all other capital cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cA car is stolen or broken into every 42 minutes in Victoria. This level of crime is not acceptable,\u201d said the council\u2019s chief executive Andrew Hall, who represents the interests of Australian insurance companies.<\/p>\n

The ICA data only includes cars that were insured, for which claims are made.<\/p>\n

The wave of thefts in Victoria has fuelled a rise in premiums across the country, despite the number of claims falling in other states.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost of Victoria\u2019s car theft crisis doesn\u2019t stop at the state border,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith nearly half a billion dollars of insured claims for car theft nationally, and half of that now coming from Victoria, every insurance customer in Australia ultimately shares the burden through their premiums.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victoria Police data shows more than 32,000 cars were stolen in the state in 2025, the most since 2001.<\/a> That was far higher than NSW (14,845) and Queensland (18,573). Since 2022, there has been a 96.9 per cent increase in the number of stolen cars, and an 83.97 per cent increase in the rate of stolen vehicles<\/a> per 100,000 people in Victoria.<\/p>\n

Stolen cars are generally used either by teenage criminals for joyrides who \u201cpost and boast\u201d about it on social media, shipped overseas by criminal syndicates<\/a> for profit, or used as \u201chotties\u201d to enable firebombings and drive-by<\/a> shootings.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Police said the major driver behind the surge in car thefts in Victoria was criminals increasingly using key-cloning devices to electronically override a car\u2019s system. About 10,000 cars, or 30 vehicles a day, were stolen last year using that technology. Police did not respond to a question on why Victoria\u2019s rates of car theft were far higher than other states.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

But Victoria Police deputy commissioner Bob Hill said in a media conference earlier this year that although most car thefts were committed by offenders aged over 25 who have learnt the craft through criminal networks, young offenders were also being recruited by organised crime groups \u201cas minions\u201d to steal cars on their behalf.<\/p>\n

This practice has been particularly pervasive in Victoria, including during a spate of recent attacks on nightlife spots across Melbourne, with teenagers being hired through encrypted apps<\/a> and complicating police efforts to find the puppet-masters.<\/p>\n

Hall, of the Insurance Council, said Queensland used to have Australia\u2019s biggest car-theft insurance bill, but this had fallen dramatically since the state government introduced reforms to crack down on crime.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can only point to the fact that they looked at the system and they addressed issues around adult crime, adult time, bail laws, and the like,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Victoria this year passed laws for violent young offenders<\/a> to be jailed for longer, but they do not encompass non-violent crimes like car theft.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a very good, close relationship with the Victorian police force \u2026 the police are doing their level best to arrest offenders and try and tackle the problem, but clearly that alone is not enough,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, if offenders get caught, go through a process, go back out on the street and just reoffend, then there is a cycle problem going on here, a systemic cycle problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

A state government spokesperson said police were actively targeting car theft. \u201cWe\u2019ve also increased penalties, strengthened bail laws and made sure offenders are far more likely to be remanded.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Victoria Police spokesperson on Wednesday said police recovered about 80 per cent of stolen cars within a year, but \u201cwe know this is cold comfort if your car is stolen\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cTo best safeguard your car, we urge owners to install anti-theft measures such as on-board diagnostic port locks, park off-street where possible and always lock your doors and windows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Police<\/a><\/p>\n

On April 30, contractor Matt Jones parked his Ford Mondeo outside a shop to grab breakfast on his way to work. \u201cJust a dim sim, potato cake, energy drink,\u201d he said \u2013 and left his keys under the front seat while he was inside. When he exited less than a minute later, the car was gone.<\/p>\n

Inside were his work tools and wallet, but also a collection of sentimental items, including the first Father\u2019s Day gift he\u2019d received from his son. \u201cI\u2019m kicking myself,\u201d Jones said. <\/p>\n

Shereen Faiyaz saved up for five years to buy her husband, Mohammed, a 2000 Land Cruiser for his 50th birthday. About 5am on February 19, the couple woke early to eat together while observing Ramadan. Mohammed left the house for work while it was still dark, and found his car had been taken.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went outside to drop him to say goodbye, and then he looked back and said: \u2018My car\u2019s gone,\u2019 … and then he started to cry,\u201d Shereen said.<\/p>\n

The couple checked their CCTV footage and saw a thief had broken through the car\u2019s rear window and climbed through to the driver\u2019s seat, starting the vehicle electronically without the keys. Mohammed, who works as a truck driver, would sometimes use the car to tow caravans interstate for additional income when business was slow, and the couple would also use it for camping trips.<\/p>\n

\"ShereenShereen and Mohammed Faiyaz\u2019s Toyota Land Cruiser was taken from their home in February, by someone using key-cloning technology. <\/p>\n

Since the theft, the couple keep their car keys in an aluminium-lined box so it can\u2019t be remotely cloned by electronic devices, have installed a steering-wheel lock and placed tracking devices in their daughters\u2019 cars.<\/p>\n

\" Photo: Matt Golding<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about the money, it\u2019s not about the car, but I think for a lot of us it\u2019s the sentimental value,\u201d Shereen said. \u201cI\u2019m still very emotional about it, my husband\u2019s still very emotional about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"AngusAngus Delaney<\/a> is a reporter at The Age. Email him at angus.delaney@theage.com.au or contact him securely on Signal at angusdelaney.31Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated June 4, 2026 \u2014 11:12am,first published June 4, 2026 \u2014 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":713801,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-713800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=713800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/713801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=713800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=713800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=713800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}