How Often Is a Car Stolen in Australia?

Professional car thefts in Australia have been on the rise since the pandemic. When your car is taken it's costly and inconvenient, and it can leave you feeling genuinely violated. Here's what the numbers say, and what you can do about it.

How Many Cars Are Stolen in Australia Each Year?

On average, a light vehicle is stolen roughly every eleven minutes. Over 38,000 passenger cars or light commercial vehicles were stolen in 2021. The overall number actually dropped during the pandemic, but the professional thefts went up.

That split makes sense once you think about it. Petty theft and teenagers grabbing cars for a joyride fell away while everyone was stuck indoors. Professional thieves, the ones who steal to resell or strip for parts, kept working. And that's the worrying part: with professional theft, cars are rarely recovered.

It isn't all bad news. Nearly 70 per cent of Australians have never had a car stolen or had anything taken from inside their vehicle. If you're worried about it, the useful first step is knowing where the risk actually sits.

Where Do Cars Get Stolen the Most in Australia?

The highest rate of car theft is in the Australian Capital Territory, at 254 stolen cars per 100,000 population. Rate and raw numbers tell different stories, though. Every state and territory has its hot spots, and theft skews toward built-up, high-density city areas. Here's how each one breaks down.

The eastern states: where the big numbers live

The ACT recorded 1423 car thefts in 2021. At 4.5 vehicles stolen per 1000 vehicles registered, it has the highest theft rate in the country despite the lowest total number stolen. Motor vehicle theft there cost over $2.5 million, and most of it happened on Friday evenings.

Victoria is the exception to the usual rule that smaller populations mean fewer thefts, with over 15,000 stolen cars in 2021 and a high rate of three per 1000 registered. Stolen vehicles cost over $18 million last year, almost $4 million of that from Ford Ranger PX MY11+ thefts alone. Friday evenings again topped the chart, and the local government areas of Port Phillip, Yarra, and Maribyrnong copped the most.

Queensland is worse on almost every measure: 15,805 cars stolen last year, a rate of 3.7 per 1000 registered, and the highest cost in the country at over $31 million. According to NMVTRC data, over half of Queensland victims believed the crime started with criminals stealing keys from their home. Brisbane alone lost 3,623 cars, making it the worst city in the nation for car theft. The Gold Coast, Townsville, Cairns, and Toowoomba round out second through fifth, and Brisbane and the Gold Coast also top the list for thefts from cars.

New South Wales is the surprise. It's the most populous state, yet its rate of 1.8 thefts per 1000 vehicles is the lowest in the nation, even with a high total of 10,473. Newcastle leads its cities for thefts (492), followed by Central Coast (408), Wollongong (351), and Sydney (198), with Cessnock, Coonamble, and Wentworth the regional hot spots. Theft still cost the state a whopping $23 million, the Ford Ranger accounting for over $4 million of it.

The rest of the country

Tasmania's low population shows in its figures: 1,065 stolen cars in the past year, a rate of 2.1 per 1000 registered, and just over $1 million lost. If you're worried about theft, it's one of the better places to be.

The Northern Territory is the opposite story. It has very few thefts in total, 1,639 last year, but the worst rate in the country at 10.1 per 1000 registered. Unusually, its biggest single loss comes from the Toyota Hilux MY15+, just under $850,000 of the $4.5 million total, and the Hilux is also the Territory's most stolen model.

South Australia sits at a low 2.3 thefts per 1000 registered, 3,454 in total, costing just over $4 million. Even so, Adelaide comes in sixth on the list of cities for car theft (504) and third for thefts from vehicles. South Australians are also the most likely to skip car insurance, so victims here are the least likely to make a claim.

Western Australia had 6,215 stolen vehicles last year, a rate of 2.7 per 1000, costing just over $4.5 million. The upside for locals: Western Australians were the most likely to have their stolen car covered by insurance.

Which Cars Get Targeted Most?

Every car is at risk, but thieves have clear favourites. In almost every state the Holden Commodore VE topped the list, making the Holden Commodore the single most stolen model collectively. The exceptions are the Northern Territory, where the Toyota Hilux leads, and Tasmania, where it's the Nissan Pulsar.

The Commodore VE gets taken so often partly because it's everywhere. But it's a cheaper car, so it isn't the one that costs the most. That title goes to the Ford Ranger in four states, the Toyota Hilux in three, and the Holden Colorado in one (Tasmania).

How to Protect Your Car

You can't stop theft entirely, professional jobs especially, but you can make your own car a harder target. A few things that genuinely help protect your vehicle:

• Keep your keys safe. A surprising share of thefts use the owner's own keys. If you have keyless entry, store the fob away from the front door, ideally in a box or drawer, so thieves can't clone the signal that opens your car.
• Don't write your address on your keys, in case you lose them.
• Add your own security. Most modern cars have alarms and motion sensors, but visible cameras and tyre locks make a thief think twice.
• Park in a garage where you can.
• Lock it, every time. A car left open is an easy invitation, and it makes sneak thefts simple even while you're home.

Check your insurance covers theft, too. Around half of 18-to-25-year-olds have no car insurance at all, which leaves that group badly exposed.

Two more things worth knowing. Around 80 per cent of stolen cars are recovered, most within 48 hours, so report a theft to the police straight away. And your out-of-pocket loss depends entirely on your cover. In one survey, 40% of Australians either didn't make a claim after a theft or had it rejected, and the average victim ends up $5000 down.

There's a buying-side angle to all this. When you're buying a used car, there's a real chance it was stolen at some point. Maybe you're dealing with the thief directly. Maybe the car was recovered and quietly resold. A history report from Carify checks that against the vehicle identification number (VIN), so with the number of professional thefts about, it's worth doing. Run a stolen vehicle check before you hand over any money.

One last note on the numbers behind all this. The National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council, formed in the late 90s to bring theft down nationally, managed a 60% reduction over two decades. Its funding was pulled in 2021, and the not-for-profit has since closed.