More cars stolen in Melbourne than in all other capital cities combined

Victoria is the car-theft capital of Australia, with more insurance claims for stolen cars lodged in Melbourne than all other capital cities combined last year.

New data from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) found payouts for stolen cars in Victoria last year totalled $243 million across 12,500 claims – more than the rest of Australia put together.

Victoria recorded a 25 per cent increase in the number of motor theft insurance claims year-on-year, as well as a 37 per cent rise in total payouts. Claims fell by double digits in the other states, with Victoria alone bucking the trend. The sharpest rise was seen in Melbourne, with the number of claims in regional Victoria staying more or less steady.

In Melbourne 10,400 claims were made for stolen cars last year, eclipsing the claims made in all other capital cities.

“A car is stolen or broken into every 42 minutes in Victoria. This level of crime is not acceptable,” said the council’s chief executive Andrew Hall, who represents the interests of Australian insurance companies.

The ICA data only includes cars that were insured, for which claims are made.

Victoria Police data shows more than 32,000 cars were stolen in the state in 2025, the highest level since 2001. That was far higher than NSW (14,845) and Queensland (18,573). Since 2022, there has been a 96.9 per cent increase in the number of stolen cars, and an 83.97 per cent increase in the rate of stolen vehicles per 100,000 people in Victoria.

Stolen cars are generally used either by teenage criminals for joyrides who “post and boast” about it on social media, shipped overseas by criminal syndicates for profit, or used as “hotties” to enable firebombings and drive-by shootings.

Police said the major driver behind the surge in car thefts was criminals in Victoria increasingly using key-cloning devices to electronically override a car’s security system. About 10,000 cars, or 30 vehicles a day, were stolen last year using that technology. Police did not respond to a question on why Victoria’s rates of car theft were far higher than other states.

But Victoria Police deputy commissioner Bob Hill said in a media conference earlier this year that although most car thefts were committed by offenders aged over 25 who have learnt the craft through criminal networks, young offenders were also being recruited by organised crime groups “as minions” to steal cars on their behalf.

This practice has been particularly pervasive in Victoria, including during a spate of recent attacks on nightlife spots across Melbourne, with teenagers being hired throug