Victoria Property Theft Statistics 2024
Recorded victim counts and population-adjusted rates for Victoria, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Population 6,950,961 at 30 June 2024.
Read these figures with care
- ABS advises published Victorian data for 2010–2012 is not directly comparable with 2013 onwards.
Other theft
2024169,673
2,441 per 100,000 people — 11% above the national rate
+29.2% on 2023
Motor vehicle theft
202422,504
323.8 per 100,000 people — 34% above the national rate
+41% on 2023
Unlawful entry with intent
202445,895
660.3 per 100,000 people
+25.2% on 2023
How Victoria compares
Adjusted for population, Victoria records the 5th highest rate of 8 jurisdictions for other theft, at 2,441 victims per 100,000 people against a national 2,190.4. For motor vehicle theft it records the 2nd highest rate of 8 jurisdictions.
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 Victoria has risen 21.2%, from 2,013.5 to 2,441 per 100,000. The rate peaked in 2024 at 2,441 and was at its lowest in 2021 at 1,630.7.
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 Victoria. Each year uses its own population, so the trend reflects crime rather than population growth.
| Year | Other theft | per 100k | Vehicle theft | Unlawful entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 121,260 | 2,013.5 | 15,171 | 47,853 |
| 2016 | 140,124 | 2,269.9 | 18,992 | 52,679 |
| 2017 | 118,510 | 1,880.3 | 14,803 | 44,413 |
| 2018 | 125,334 | 1,951.3 | 14,782 | 38,587 |
| 2019 | 136,727 | 2,091.5 | 15,899 | 39,760 |
| 2020 | 113,436 | 1,714.8 | 13,412 | 31,286 |
| 2021 | 106,776 | 1,630.7 | 12,132 | 29,716 |
| 2022 | 108,390 | 1,638.5 | 12,881 | 30,874 |
| 2023 | 131,341 | 1,932.3 | 15,957 | 36,652 |
| 2024 | 169,673 | 2,441 | 22,504 | 45,895 |
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 Victoria 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 — Victoria publishes its own statistics through Crime Statistics Agency Victoria.
Quarterly recorded offence and victim report tables by local government area, released in March, June, September and December.
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.
169,673 theft victims in Victoria — be one fewer
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