Victoria has been labelled Australia's crime capital after damning new insurance data revealed the state recorded more car theft and home burglary claims than any other jurisdiction in the country — with Melbourne alone generating more motor vehicle theft claims than every other Australian capital city combined.

Figures released by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) show Victorians lodged more than 12,300 motor vehicle theft or burglary insurance claims in the 2025–26 financial year, costing insurers approximately $244 million. Combined with nearly 3,900 property theft and burglary claims worth more than $56 million, the total theft-related insurance bill for the state exceeded $300 million in a single year.

Every other state and territory recorded a decline in both motor theft and home burglary claims over the same period, making Victoria a stark national outlier. The ICA also revealed that Victoria recorded almost twice as many home burglary claims as New South Wales and Queensland combined.

The scale of Victoria's crime problem

The raw numbers translate into a disturbing real-world frequency. According to the ICA, a car is stolen or broken into in Victoria every 43 minutes, while a home is broken into every two hours. Victoria Police separately confirmed that 31,851 vehicles were stolen in the year to March 2026 — the highest figure in roughly 25 years and double the number recorded just four years ago.

ICA chief executive Andrew Hall said the organisation felt a duty to make the data public given the severity of the trend.

"We normally don't release this level of data, but we felt a deep obligation when we saw the extent to which crime rates were climbing," Hall said. "It's now half a billion dollars a year in car theft claims in Australia, and half of that is coming from Victoria."

Hall was unequivocal that the situation should not be normalised. "These are really, really big numbers. And I don't think we should be accepting that this is normal. It clearly is not the case and we need to be getting on top of it."

He also pointed to a troubling pattern of criminal targeting. "I think crime targets the weakest link. And at the moment, it's targeting Melbourne and it's targeting Victoria."

Organised crime and global theft rings driving the surge

The ICA report identified organised crime networks, global car theft rings and the illicit tobacco market as major drivers behind the spike in claims. Hall said insurers had received intelligence indicating stolen Melbourne vehicles were being exported overseas.

"We're seeing cars that are being stolen off the streets here in Melbourne, ending up in shipping containers in Dubai," he said.

The illicit tobacco trade and associated arson attacks were also flagged as a significant concern, with the ICA calling for better access to verified information about premises involved in illegal tobacco activity so insurers can properly assess risk. Victorian Premier Ben Carroll acknowledged the concern, noting that new laws targeting tobacco shops had come into effect this week. For more on Australia's broader efforts to combat this kind of transnational crime, the issue has drawn increasing attention at both a domestic and international level.

The ICA report also noted that the average motor vehicle insurance claim in Australia grew more than 40 per cent in the five years to 2024, driven partly by rising parts prices, labour shortages and extended repair times. Hire car costs alone have surged nearly 70 per cent since 2019. Victoria also led the nation for the average cost of collision repairs, at close to $7,000 per claim.

Calls for urgent government action

Hall acknowledged that Victoria Police were working hard but argued that the current approach was insufficient to reverse the trend. "Doing the same thing and hoping for a different outcome is not going to be the way forward here in Victoria," he said. "Victoria is going to have to tackle this problem in a very different way."

He pointed to Queensland's recently introduced "adult crime, adult time" laws as an example of measures that had made a measurable difference, particularly in reducing petty crime that he described as a pipeline into more serious organised criminal activity.

As part of its election platform ahead of the next Victorian state election, the ICA has released a formal set of policy demands, including:

  • A statewide strategy specifically targeting car theft and property crime
  • Stronger intelligence sharing between agencies and insurers
  • Targeted prevention measures and investment in specialist law enforcement capabilities
  • A centrally coordinated, state-government-led disaster clean-up arrangement
  • Abolition of stamp duty on home, contents and business insurance products — a move the ICA says would return $2.3 billion to Victorians

Hall warned that Victoria's crime rates were not just a local problem — they were pushing up insurance premiums for policyholders across Australia. "There are things that can be done. They do impact premiums around the country. It is a risk we can control," he said. "We can get on top of crime in this country. We don't have to accept that it's somehow the normal."

For the latest coverage of crime news in Australia, including ongoing developments in Victoria, stay with us as this story continues to develop.