Victoria Motor Vehicle Theft Claims Spike 25% Amid National Decline

Motor vehicle theft claims have spiked in Victoria, according to new insurance data, bucking a decline in every other mainland state.

New analysis from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) shows there was a 25 per cent increase in motor theft claims from 2024 to 2025, and a 37 per cent rise in incurred costs over the same period.

ICA chief executive Andrew Hall said the Insurance Statistics Australia (ISA) data showed Victoria's total bill — $243 million across more than 12,500 claims — was higher than the combined sum of all other mainland states.

"It's a startling figure and this data has taken us by surprise as well," he said.

"It's good news around the rest of the country where we have seen Queensland reduce its rates in the biggest drop since 2022, down 1 per cent. Western Australia is down 15 per cent.

Victorian claims were concentrated in metropolitan Melbourne, which recorded 10,400 claims totalling $205 million, up 30 per cent by volume and 42 per cent by value between 2024 and 2025.

By comparison, metropolitan Sydney notched up about 2,600 claims between 2024 and 2025, while Brisbane and Perth had about 2,700 and greater Adelaide about 1,000 claims during the same 12-month period.

"This is a problem in Melbourne," Mr Hall said.

"It's about 10,000 cars a year now being stolen or broken into in Melbourne — the equivalent of every car you can park at Tullamarine airport being stolen or broken into."

Car stolen after helping at crash scene

Victorian motorist Samantha Petrevski and her partner pulled over to help at the scene of a car crash in Melbourne's outer north in November last year.

A car ahead of them had flipped onto its roof and a man was trying to get himself free from the wreck.

Shortly after the man was extricated, he attempted to steal Ms Petrevski's vehicle.

"All of a sudden, I hear someone turn around and say, 'Whose red car is that? He's getting in it,' and I turn around and he's literally closing my driver's door, puts the keys in the ignition, I see my brake lights turn on and that's when I started to run for the car," she said.

Ms Petrevski said the man they tried to help then sped off in her vehicle but crashed again only a short time later.

"I don't stop now if I see an accident. I just lock my doors. I get a little bit shaken up," she said.

Focus on crime

With a state election scheduled for November, Monash University politics professor Zareh Ghazarian said car theft and crime more broadly were key campaign issues.

Dr Ghazarian said the state government had attempted to address rising crime rates with changes to bail laws and introducing adult time for violent crime laws.

"We've seen in opinion polls that crime has been really prominent and at top of people's minds when it comes to Victoria," Dr Ghazarian said.

In a statement, a Victoria Police spokesperson said car theft had spiked significantly in recent years.

"While Victoria Police usually locates around 80 per cent of stolen cars within a year, car owners should install anti-theft measures such as on-board diagnostics port locks and park off street where possible," the police spokesperson said.

Victoria's Police Minister Anthony Carbines said the state government had ramped up measures to curb car theft statewide.

"If you steal a vehicle and commit other crimes you face harsher sentences," Mr Carbines said.

"You also face an uplift in the conditions for you to get bail."