66,625
Motor vehicle theft victims recorded in Australia
Up 2% year-on-year.
Source: ABS Recorded Crime — Victims, 2025
Australian theft statistics · 2024–25
Someone's getting robbed every 8 minutes.
Vehicles, trailers, tools, bikes, boats, jobsite kit. Australia is in the middle of a quiet theft wave — and once your gear is gone, the stats say it almost never comes back. These are the real, source-backed numbers. The authorities won't find most of it. Time to protect yourself.
Live
NSW Western SydneyUte + toolbox stolen overnight 2 days ago QLD Logan2 trailers hitched off driveway 4 days ago VIC Dandenong$18k toolbox stripped from van 5 days ago WA MandurahDirt bike taken from carport 6 days ago NSW Central Coast4WD stolen from front yard 1 week ago QLD TownsvilleJet ski + trailer gone 1 week ago SA ElizabethCaravan hitched off overnight 1 week ago VIC GeelongHilux stolen from street 2 weeks ago NT PalmerstonLandcruiser taken from drive 2 weeks ago QLD IpswichE-bike + lock cut, from shed 2 weeks ago ACT BelconnenTradie van tools cleaned out 2 weeks ago NSW NewcastleBoat + trailer stolen at night 3 weeks ago NSW Western SydneyUte + toolbox stolen overnight 2 days ago QLD Logan2 trailers hitched off driveway 4 days ago VIC Dandenong$18k toolbox stripped from van 5 days ago WA MandurahDirt bike taken from carport 6 days ago NSW Central Coast4WD stolen from front yard 1 week ago QLD TownsvilleJet ski + trailer gone 1 week ago SA ElizabethCaravan hitched off overnight 1 week ago VIC GeelongHilux stolen from street 2 weeks ago NT PalmerstonLandcruiser taken from drive 2 weeks ago QLD IpswichE-bike + lock cut, from shed 2 weeks ago ACT BelconnenTradie van tools cleaned out 2 weeks ago NSW NewcastleBoat + trailer stolen at night 3 weeks ago
The headline numbers
Three stats that should scare every Aussie owner.
$40.8m
Value of tools stolen from vehicles & properties in Victoria
36,708 hand & power tools, 1 year to 30 June 2025. Value up 7.5% YoY.
Source: RACV — How to protect tradie tools from theft
~5%
Estimated share of stolen tools returned to owners
Industry research citing Queensland Police figures.
Source: MapTrack industry research · QPS
Trend
It isn't slowing down. It's accelerating.
Recorded motor-vehicle theft victims in Australia have climbed every year since 2021, with 2025 setting a fresh record.
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Motor vehicle theft victims · Australia67k peak
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics — Recorded Crime, 2019–2025.
Recovery rate
Report it. File a claim. Hope. Repeat.
Industry research citing Queensland Police puts the return rate for stolen tools at roughly 5%. For every 20 tools taken, 19 stay gone.
95%
Never recovered
Source: MapTrack industry research · Queensland Police figures.
State by state
Find your state. Feel the number.
Where you live changes the odds. Below are recorded motor-vehicle theft victims by state and territory, with the per-100,000 rate — because a raw count hides how exposed your region really is.
StateVictims (recorded)Per 100kRank
NSW
New South Wales
~22,100 victims · 334/100k
~22,100
victims
334
per 100k · #6
VIC
Victoria
~16,400 victims · 393/100k
~16,400
victims
393
per 100k · #4
QLD
Queensland
~15,200 victims · 596/100k
~15,200
victims
596
per 100k · #3
WA
Western Australia
~8,000 victims · 710/100k
~8,000
victims
710
per 100k · #2
SA
South Australia
~3,500 victims · 393/100k
~3,500
victims
393
per 100k · #5
NT
Northern Territory
~1,800 victims · 1198/100k
~1,800
victims
1198
per 100k · #1
TAS
Tasmania
~1,300 victims · 243/100k
~1,300
victims
243
per 100k · #8
ACT
Australian Cap. Terr.
~900 victims · 328/100k
~900
victims
328
per 100k · #7
Approximate figures · Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics — Recorded Crime, Victims 2024–25. Orange bars mark states above the national average rate.
The targets
What's walking out driveways & worksites.
Cars & utes
Driveways, carparks, worksites.
Trailers & caravans
Hitch-off thefts take seconds.
Tools & toolboxes
Removed from vans overnight.
Bikes & e-bikes
Taken from garages & sheds.
Equipment & gear
Jobsite kit walks off every week.
What one theft actually costs you
Tracksy pays for itself after a single recovery.
Slide your insurance excess and the value of what you want tracked. We'll show you how fast a Tracksy pays itself off — before you even factor in the premium hike after a claim.
Based on: $29 per Tracksy, median AU comprehensive premium ≈ $1,600/yr, ~8% premium uplift after a theft claim. Numbers are illustrative — your mileage may vary.
Pays itself off after
1 recovery
A single Tracksy (~$29) saves you $1,171 vs. your excess alone — before you even factor in a premium hike or losing the asset entirely.
41×
Tracksy packs for the price of your excess
$1,728
Est. post-claim premium, year 1
$41,584
Total out-of-pocket, worst case
Official advice · Queensland Police
"Consider hiding GPS trackers in your tools and in your valuable items."
The Queensland Police Service's tool-security guidance lists hidden trackers alongside locking up tools, securing vehicles and recording identifying details — because prevention and recovery start with you, not them.
Source: QPS — Tool Security
The authorities won't find it. You have to.
Stick a Tracksy to anything worth more than $100 and you've just raised the bar from never recovered to pinned on a map in your pocket. No subscription. Works with Apple Find My and Google Find Hub.
Sources
All figures above are source-backed.
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Recorded Crime — Victims, 2025
abs.gov.au ↗RACV
How to protect tradie tools from theft
racv.com.au ↗Queensland Police
Tool Security guidance
police.qld.gov.au ↗Methodology note
All figures are the most recent published at time of writing. ABS counts victims (not individual vehicles). Recovery estimates are industry research citing police figures and are not independently verified by every category.