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.
New data from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) found payouts for stolen cars in Victoria last year totalled $243 million across 12,500 claims – more than the rest of Australia put together.
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 fell by double digits in the other states, with Victoria alone bucking the trend. The sharpest rise was seen in Melbourne, with the number of claims in regional Victoria staying more or less steady.
In Melbourne 10,400 claims were made for stolen cars last year, eclipsing the claims made in all other capital cities.
“A car is stolen or broken into every 42 minutes in Victoria. This level of crime is not acceptable,” said the council’s chief executive Andrew Hall, who represents the interests of Australian insurance companies.
The ICA data only includes cars that were insured, for which claims are made.
Victoria Police data shows more than 32,000 cars were stolen in the state in 2025, the highest level since 2001. 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 per 100,000 people in Victoria.
Stolen cars are generally used either by teenage criminals for joyrides who “post and boast” about it on social media, shipped overseas by criminal syndicates for profit, or used as “hotties” to enable firebombings and drive-by shootings.
Police said the major driver behind the surge in car thefts was criminals in Victoria increasingly using key-cloning devices to electronically override a car’s security 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’s rates of car theft were far higher than other states.
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 “as minions” to steal cars on their behalf.
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 and complicating police efforts to find the puppet-masters.
Hall, of the Insurance Council, said Queensland used to have Australia’s biggest car-theft insurance bill, but this had fallen dramatically since the state government introduced reforms to crack down on crime.
“We 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,” he said.
Victoria this year passed laws for young violent offenders to be jailed for longer, but they do not encompass non-violent crimes like car theft.
“We’ve got a very good, close relationship with the Victorian police force … the police are doing their level best to arrest offenders and try and tackle the problem, but clearly that alone is not enough,” Hall said.
“At 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.”
A state government spokesperson said police were actively targeting car theft. “We’ve also increased penalties, strengthened bail laws and made sure offenders are far more likely to be remanded.”
A Victoria Police spokesperson on Wednesday said police recovered about 80 per cent of stolen cars within a year, but “we know this is cold comfort if your car is stolen”.
“To 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.”
On April 30, contractor Matt Jones parked his Ford Mondeo outside a shop to grab breakfast on his way to work. “Just a dim sim, potato cake, energy drink,” he said – and left his keys under the front seat while he was inside. When he exited less than a minute later, the car was gone.
Inside were his work tools and wallet, but also a collection of sentimental items, including the first Father’s Day gift he’d received from his son. “I’m kicking myself,” Jones said. “When days are tough, you look at these things and think, ‘I’m doing this for these ones’.”
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.
“I went outside to drop him to say goodbye, and then he looked back and said: ‘My car’s gone,’ … and then he started to cry,” Shereen said.
The couple checked their CCTV footage and saw a thief had broken through the car’s rear window and climbed through to the driver’s 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.
Since the theft, the couple keep their car keys in an aluminium-lined box so it can’t be remotely cloned by electronic devices, have installed a steering-wheel lock and placed tracking devices in their daughters’ cars.
“It’s not about the money, it’s not about the car, but I think for a lot of us it’s the sentimental value,” Shereen said. “I’m still very emotional about it, my husband’s still very emotional about it.”
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