The vehicle theft crisis in Victoria continues to worsen, according to the latest crime statistics published by the Insurance Council of Australia, which announced figures for the 2025 calendar year.

Motor vehicle theft across all other states fell, but Victoria’s bill of $243 million across 12,500 claims was higher than the combined total for other states included in the Insurance Statistics Australia (ISA) data. That ISA report covers Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia, along with the Victorian stats.

Victoria’s metropolitan regions represented 10,400 claims, up 30 per cent by volume. The cost of those claims came to $205 million, a massive 42 per cent higher than in 2024.

Victoria’s over-representation drove national theft figures up by 2.5 per cent, to 29,000 reported thefts nationally. With Victoria’s numbers isolated, the national snapshot shows a 10 per cent reduction in claims and an 8 per cent reduction in value for all other states.

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The biggest reductions in motor theft claims were reported in Western Australia, down 15 per cent, South Australia, down 14 per cent, and Queensland, which reported its biggest ever improvement, down 12 per cent.

New South Wales figures also dropped, although the decrease was less pronounced, with vehicle thefts down 1.6 per cent in 2025 compared to 2024’s results.

Data reveals that metropolitan thefts outpaced those in country areas in South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia. The reverse is true in New South Wales and Queensland, with more thefts in regional zones than in metro areas.

In a statement, Andrew Hall, the CEO of the Insurance Council of Australia, said, “A car is stolen or broken into every 42 minutes in Victoria. This level of crime is not acceptable.

“Each year, Victoria’s numbers stand apart from the rest of the country, and that gap is widening.

“While every other state is effectively reducing car theft, in Victoria the volume of claims and the costs involved remain at unacceptable levels, and that sustained pattern is what’s most concerning.”

Data collected by the Insurance Council of Australia shows that the number of comprehensive insurance policies rose by 2.2 per cent nationally.

Theft frequency, based on the number of thefts as a percentage of policies held, fell in all states except Victoria, where it rose 31 per cent.