Car Theft Survey and Statistics 2023

In 2023, the number of car thefts in Australia has continued to rise.

We surveyed 1,003 Australians aged 18 years and over to find out about Australians’ experiences and beliefs towards car theft in our latest survey.

We also compared these results to our Car Theft Survey and Statistics 2022 to understand trends from the previous year when a similar survey was conducted.

For insight into what Australians think about car theft, check out our survey results below.

Quick Stats

• Nearly 25% of Australians surveyed had their belongings stolen from their car.

• Of the Australians surveyed, 44% had their car, belongings or both stolen by someone breaking a window or breaking in through a door to gain entry.

• More than 45% of Australians surveyed did not make a claim after their theft event, or if they did submit a claim, it wasn’t accepted.

Car Thefts in Australia

In 2022, Australian police recorded 55,037 victims of car theft, an increase of 11% from 2021. ^[1]

Car Theft Survey Results^

Have you ever had a car stolen and/or belongings stolen from a car you owned?

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%

Nearly 25% of Australians surveyed had their belongings stolen from their car.

More than 30% of Western Australians surveyed had their belongings stolen.

There was a 6.23% increase in the number of Australian respondents who had their belongings stolen from their car since 2022. ^[2]

Which methods do you think car thieves are most likely to use to steal a car?

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%

Nearly 40% of Australians surveyed think that thieves are most likely to steal a car by hot-wiring.

Almost two-thirds of Queenslanders surveyed think that thieves are most likely to steal spare keys from the owner’s home to steal their car.

The majority of surveyed Australians (70%) who had their car stolen, believe that thieves were more likely to ‘hotwire’ their car before stealing it. Whereas 40% of respondents (who had their belongings stolen) thought that thieves were most likely to steal spare keys from the car owner’s home.

Nearly a quarter of respondents who hadn’t had their car or belongings stolen thought that car-jacking was most likely the method of theft.

In 2022, the majority of Australians thought their car was stolen using hot-wiring or using spare keys stolen from their home. This trend has continued in 2023. ^[2]

When your car/belongings were stolen, how did the thief gain access to your car?*

*Only participants who had a car stolen, belongings from their car stolen or a car and their belongings stolen answered this question.

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%

More than 2 in 5 Australians surveyed had their car, belongings or both stolen by someone breaking a window or breaking in through a door to gain entry. While over a third of Australians had their lock picked so the thief could gain access to the vehicle.

More than 50% of male participants had broken windows or doors when their car, belongings or both were stolen.

The majority of Western Australian (70%) participants had their car, belongings or both stolen by someone breaking a window or breaking in through a door to gain entry.

Half of the participants who had their cars stolen had their lock picked, while 44% of respondents had their belongings stolen via a broken window or door to gain entry.

What year was the theft-affected car manufactured?*

*Only participants who had a car stolen, belongings from their car stolen or a car and their belongings stolen answered this question.

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%

Nearly a third of Australians surveyed owned cars manufactured in the 2000s.

Over 45% of 28-37-year-old participants owned cars manufactured in the 2010s.

More than 2 in 5 Western Australians owned cars manufactured in the 2010s.

More than 70% of respondents who had a car stolen owned a car manufactured in the 1980s and 1990s.

Did car insurance cover your theft event?*

*Only participants who had a car stolen, belongings from their car stolen or a car and their belongings stolen answered this question.

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%

More than 45% of Australians surveyed didn’t make a claim after their theft event, or if they did submit a claim, it wasn’t accepted.

Nearly 60% of Western Australian participants didn’t make a claim, or their claim wasn’t accepted.

The majority of respondents (70%) who had both their car and belongings stolen were covered by car insurance, compared to only a third of respondents who had their belongings stolen.

In 2023, the number of respondents who had car insurance only increased by 3% from 2022. ^[2]

Did you recover the vehicle/belongings stolen?*

*Only participants who had a car stolen, belongings from their car stolen or a car and their belongings stolen answered this question.

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%

Nearly two-thirds of Australians did not recover the stolen vehicle, belongings or both.

Over 45% of 18-27 year old participants recovered only part of what was stolen.

More than half of respondents who had their car stolen recovered the stolen car, compared to the 5% of respondents who had their belongings stolen.

In 2023, there was a 7.24% increase in the number of Australian respondents who recovered only part of what was stolen in 2022. ^[2]

Do you personally know anyone (other than yourself) who has had a car stolen in the last two years?

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%

More than 1 in 5 Australian participants knew someone who had their car stolen in the past two years.

Nearly 30% of Queenslanders surveyed knew someone who had their car stolen during this period.

Key Takeaways

Car Theft in Queensland

Over the last two years, nearly 30% of Queenslanders surveyed knew someone who had their car stolen. While only 3.33% of Queenslanders in our survey responded that their car was stolen, the ABS has reported that car thefts have increased by 25% since 2021 in Queensland. ^[1]

Car Insurance Cover

Almost 70% of respondents who had their car and belongings stolen were covered by car insurance. More than two-thirds of respondents who had their car stolen and a third who had their belongings stolen were also covered.