Northern Territory Property Theft Statistics 2024
Recorded victim counts and population-adjusted rates for Northern Territory, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Population 260,884 at 30 June 2024.
Read these figures with care
- ABS advises Northern Territory data from 2024 onwards is not comparable with earlier reference periods.
- No 2024 unlawful entry with intent figure was published for the Northern Territory.
Other theft
20247,904
3,029.7 per 100,000 people — 38% above the national rate
-3.2% on 2023
Motor vehicle theft
20241,737
665.8 per 100,000 people — 176% above the national rate
-3.9% on 2023
Unlawful entry with intent
20236,640
2,578.6 per 100,000 people — 327% above the national rate
+7.2% on 2022
No 2024 figure published for this offence in Northern Territory — showing the most recent published year.
How Northern Territory compares
Adjusted for population, Northern Territory records the highest rate of any Australian jurisdiction for other theft, at 3,029.7 victims per 100,000 people against a national 2,190.4. For motor vehicle theft it records the highest rate of any Australian jurisdiction.
Comparing raw counts between jurisdictions is misleading — the largest states record the most offences largely because more people live in them. Rates per 100,000 are the only fair basis for comparison, and they frequently reverse the ranking that raw counts suggest.
The last decade
Between 2015 and 2024, the other-theft rate in Northern Territory has risen 15.5%, from 2,622.1 to 3,029.7 per 100,000. The rate peaked in 2023 at 3,171.6 and was at its lowest in 2020 at 2,137.6.
That low point coincides with the COVID-19 lockdown period, when reported theft fell sharply across Australia as more people stayed home. Rates have since recovered.
Ten-year trend
Other theft victims per 100,000 people in Northern Territory. Each year uses its own population, so the trend reflects crime rather than population growth.
| Year | Other theft | per 100k | Vehicle theft | Unlawful entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | — | — | 3,341 |
| 2015 | 6,416 | 2,622.1 | 872 | 3,272 |
| 2016 | 6,662 | 2,711.7 | 810 | 3,736 |
| 2017 | 6,417 | 2,593.6 | 740 | 4,277 |
| 2018 | 6,426 | 2,600.6 | 769 | 4,981 |
| 2019 | 6,285 | 2,549.1 | 700 | 4,652 |
| 2020 | 5,289 | 2,137.6 | 513 | 3,749 |
| 2021 | 6,503 | 2,620.6 | 708 | 4,745 |
| 2022 | 6,710 | 2,651.1 | 1,001 | 6,194 |
| 2023 | 8,167 | 3,171.6 | 1,808 | 6,640 |
| 2024 | 7,904 | 3,029.7 | 1,737 | — |
Vehicle theft and unlawful entry columns are aligned by year where published; a dash means the ABS did not publish a figure for that offence and year.
More detailed Northern Territory data
The ABS figures above are annual and national in scope. For finer detail — usually by suburb or local government area, and more often than once a year — Northern Territory publishes its own statistics through Northern Territory Government open data.
Monthly offence counts by type and location, released on the third Friday of each month and compiled by the Department of the Attorney-General and Justice.
Note that jurisdictions define offences and reference periods differently, so figures from a state agency will not always match the ABS figures on this page. The ABS applies one national classification across all jurisdictions, which is why we use it for comparison.
Compare with other states and territories
Method and sources
Victim counts from Australian Bureau of Statistics, Recorded Crime – Victims, 2024. Rates per 100,000 are our own calculation — the ABS does not publish victimisation rates for property offences — using ABS Estimated Resident Population for the matching year.
ABS randomly adjusts cells to protect confidentiality, so jurisdiction figures do not sum exactly to national totals. Counts include offences against organisations as well as individuals, and reported crime undercounts actual crime.
Full method and the national picture are on the theft statistics hub.
7,904 theft victims in Northern Territory — be one fewer
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