Highest Crime Rate in Australia: Where Your City Ranks This Year

As the owner of North Removals, I have spent more than 20 years as one of the professional removalists in Melbourne, moving families across the city and around Australia. One question comes up in almost every quote: is the new area safe?

Choosing where to live is never only about the house or the job. It is about the street, the neighbours, and how you feel walking home after dark. That is why I keep a close eye on the crime rate in Australia and how it shifts from city to city, suburb to suburb.

The picture in 2026 is more encouraging than the headlines suggest. Victoria has just posted its first annual crime drop in almost four years. Alice Springs, long tagged the country’s crime capital, has seen offences fall sharply. Yet the national violence figures are still climbing, and the gap between the safest and the highest-crime areas remains enormous. So the honest answer depends entirely on which postcode you are looking at.

This guide pulls the latest official numbers into one place: ABS national data, the Crime Statistics Agency Victoria release to March 2026, NSW BOCSAR, the NT Police figures, and the Australian Institute of Criminology homicide report.

I have paired the hard data with what my crews see on the ground. By the end you will have a clear read on where each city sits, which suburbs run hot or cold, and how to plan a move that protects your peace of mind from the very first night.

Understanding Crime Rate Comparisons

Every figure in this guide comes from official crime statistics, not estimates. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) compiles national victim data from state police records. We also draw on the Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), the NT Police, and the Australian Institute of Criminology. The freshest releases used here run to the year ending March 2026.

Crime categories are broadly comparable across the country thanks to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Offence Classification (ANZSOC). Still, states record and define incidents slightly differently, and reporting rates vary, so treat cross-border comparisons as a guide rather than a perfect ruler. We take the same data-first approach to every relocation decision, from safety to the cost of living across Australia, and even to sizing the truck with our removals volume calculator. A rising number can also reflect better reporting, not just more offending, which is exactly what happened with sexual assault and family violence in 2024.

Crime Rate Comparison: Major Australian Cities

Here is where Australia’s major cities stand, including every capital plus the regional centres that run notably hotter. Rates are shown per 100,000 residents so a small city like Darwin can be compared fairly with Sydney. Violent crime covers offences against people, such as assaults. Property crime covers burglary, theft and vehicle theft. The most common offence column flags what police record most often in each place.

City (Metro area)	Total per 100k	Violent per 100k	Property per 100k	Most common offence
Alice Springs	37,955	10,546	27,410	Property damage
Townsville	19,050	~2,000	~15,000	Vehicle theft, break-ins
Cairns	15,656	2,180	9,350	Theft, shoplifting
Darwin	13,686	3,923	9,763	Property damage
Sydney	8,000	1,250	2,330	Property damage
Brisbane	7,850	843	4,736	Theft, burglary
Melbourne	6,912	1,148	3,689	Theft, shoplifting
Geelong	6,415	1,628	4,787	Theft, shoplifting
Adelaide	6,396	1,172	5,156	Theft, stealing
Perth	6,201	1,650	4,551	Theft, stealing
Hobart	~5,500	~1,000	~4,000	Theft
Canberra	~5,000	~800	~3,500	Theft

Sources: NT Police (Alice Springs, Darwin, YE Nov 2025), Crime Statistics Agency Victoria (Melbourne, Geelong, YE Mar 2026), BOCSAR (Sydney), Queensland Police (Townsville, Cairns), plus SA, WA, TAS and ACT police. Figures marked ~ are estimates from the latest available annual data; recording methods vary by state.

Regional Queensland carries most of the country’s non-capital hotspots. Townsville and Cairns record high property crime, and Townsville’s violent crime rate runs well above the Queensland state average. Break-ins and vehicle theft drive most of the volume in both cities.

Among the capitals, Canberra, Hobart and Adelaide are the safest, with total offences sitting roughly between 5,000 and 6,500 per 100,000 and serious violence rare. Even Sydney stays moderate for its size, around 8,000 offences per 100,000, mostly property related, and it regularly makes lists of the world’s safer large cities. That combination is one reason we handle so many moves from people comparing Melbourne and Sydney living.

Melbourne and Brisbane both land in the moderate band. Melbourne’s metro rate is about 6,912 offences per 100,000, driven by theft, while Brisbane is a touch higher near 7,850, pushed up by property crime and burglaries that concentrate in Brisbane’s highest-crime suburbs. Set against Darwin at 13,686 or regional North Queensland, both capitals look comfortable.

Across the country theft is consistently the number one urban offence. Assaults cluster in Darwin and Alice Springs and stay much rarer in Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra, which is the pattern that shapes most of the relocation questions we field each week, right alongside what a Melbourne removalist costs.

Which City Has the Highest Crime Rate in Australia?

Alice Springs in the Northern Territory still holds the unfortunate title of Australia’s most crime-affected city. For the year ending November 2025, it recorded 37,955 offences per 100,000 residents, a rate several times the national average.

Darwin, the NT capital, sat at about 13,686 per 100,000 over the same period, roughly one third of the Alice Springs figure. Even regional Queensland centres often flagged for crime, such as Rockhampton and Townsville, do not come close to the Alice Springs rate, and neither do the toughest pockets of safer capitals like Adelaide, where the gap between the safest Adelaide suburbs and the roughest ones is still a fraction of that spread.

The bigger story in 2026 is direction, not just level. Northern Territory Police reported that offences in Alice Springs fell 43% between December 2024 and December 2025, with house break-ins down 79% and domestic violence offences down 28%. So while the crime capital label still fits on the raw rate, the trend has turned sharply for the better after a run of policy changes and restored alcohol restrictions.

Alice Springs measure	Change, Dec 2024 to Dec 2025
Total offences	-43%
House break-ins	-79%
Domestic violence offences	-28%

Source: NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services, year-on-year comparison to December 2025.

Alice Springs Crime Rate Breakdown

To understand the headline number, it helps to see which offences drive it. Property crime is the largest bucket by far, at roughly 27,410 incidents per 100,000 residents, fuelled by house break-ins, commercial burglaries, vehicle theft and vandalism. Violence is the part that stands out nationally, with assault rates near 9,234 per 100,000 and domestic violence around 6,415 per 100,000, both far above the Australian average.

Alcohol is a major factor. Alcohol-related assaults alone reach about 4,303 per 100,000. Violence rose noticeably after alcohol restrictions were relaxed in 2022, then emergency measures reinstated in early 2023 helped pull the numbers back, which is a large part of why 2025 recorded such a steep fall.

Offence category	Rate per 100k	Note
Property offences	27,410	Break-ins, vehicle theft, damage
Assault	9,234	Well above national average
Domestic violence	6,415	Down 28% year on year
Alcohol-related assault	4,303	Fell after 2023 restrictions

Source: NT Police crime statistics, per 100,000 residents, latest available year.

Alice Springs also carries some distinct patterns, including a period of rising youth violence and persistently high domestic violence. These reflect deeper social pressures, and they are the reason targeted community programs and policy sit at the centre of the response rather than policing alone.

Victoria: Areas With Highest and Lowest Crime

For the year ending March 2026, the Crime Statistics Agency Victoria recorded 625,426 offences, down 0.2%, and a crime rate of 8,690.8 per 100,000 people, down 1.9%. Criminal incidents fell 1.0% to 468,711. This is the first annual fall in almost four years, though the agency is blunt that crime remains high: it is still up about 26% across the past three years.

Melbourne is again the state’s highest-crime local government area, but its rate is falling. It is a stark contrast with Melbourne’s safest suburbs, which sit at a fraction of the CBD’s rate. The City of Melbourne recorded 17,110.1 incidents per 100,000, driven by nightlife, dense foot traffic and a large non-resident daytime population.

Highest-crime LGA (Victoria)	Incidents per 100k	Change YoY
Melbourne	17,110.1	-3.7%
Latrobe (incl. Traralgon)	12,922.8	+4.7%
Yarra	12,312.1	-4.2%
Port Phillip	10,986.9	–
Northern Grampians	10,712.0	–

Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, criminal incident rate by LGA, year ending 31 March 2026.

Latrobe, in the Gippsland region, is the notable exception heading the wrong way, up 4.7%. Regional centres like this tend to carry higher drug, family violence and property crime, often tied to economic pressure. It sits well above many of Melbourne’s best suburbs for everyday safety.

At the other end, Victoria’s safest pockets are mostly leafy, semi-rural areas. The Patch in Melbourne’s outer east records around 1,147 incidents per 100,000, among the lowest in the state. Park Orchards, Ferny Creek and Kallista typically run between roughly 1,500 and 2,800, still well under the state average.

Stable populations, strong community ties and fewer socio-economic pressures keep these areas quiet. If you are relocating within any of them, our team offer everything from same-day removals to full-house jobs, with coverage across the city and regional Victoria.

What Is the Most Common Crime in Victoria?

Theft dominates the Victorian numbers, and the March 2026 data confirms it. The three largest contributors to overall crime were breaches of orders at 86,227 offences, up 6%, theft from motor vehicles at 80,786, down 2%, and assaults at 52,811, essentially flat at down 0.1%. Car theft is the standout warning sign: 31,851 vehicles were stolen, the highest total since 2001-02.

Serious violent offences moved the right way. Aggravated home burglaries fell 19.9%, armed robberies dropped 14.9%, carjackings fell 5.7% and non-family-violence serious assault fell 5.9%. So the Victorian pattern in 2026 is less serious violence but stubborn, high-volume property crime, especially anything involving vehicles.

Victoria offence	Count (YE Mar 2026)	Change YoY
Breaches of orders	86,227	+6%
Theft from motor vehicle	80,786	-2%
Assaults	52,811	-0.1%
Motor vehicle theft (total)	31,851	+1%, 24-year high
Aggravated home burglary	–	-19.9%

Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, year ending 31 March 2026. Blue marks a fall, grey marks a rise.

New South Wales: Areas With Highest and Lowest Crime

NSW is the country’s steadiest large state. Over the two years to March 2026, BOCSAR found that most of the 13 major crime categories were stable, with several serious offences declining. The main upward pressure came from retail theft, with steal from retail store up 9.6% across Greater Sydney. Break and enter, robbery and vehicle theft all trended down over the comparable period.

The highest per-capita rates sit in regional and remote towns, especially in the state’s northwest. Walgett Shire regularly tops the NSW charts, and towns like Moree Plains and Coonamble face similar pressures from economic hardship, limited services and substance abuse.

In the cities, parts of Western Sydney such as Mount Druitt and Blacktown record higher assault, drug and property crime. That is why they appear among Sydney’s worst suburbs for offence rates. Sydney’s CBD records about 16,632 offences per 100,000, though many of those involve visitors and commuters rather than residents.

NSW hotspot or trend	What the data shows (to Mar 2026)
Highest per-capita area	Walgett Shire (regional northwest)
Sydney CBD offence rate	~16,632 per 100k, mostly non-resident
Retail theft (Greater Sydney)	Up 9.6% over two years, the main riser
Break, enter and robbery	Down over the comparable period
Safest areas	Ku-ring-gai suburbs, under 2,500 per 100k

Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), two years to March 2026.

The safest NSW areas are affluent, low-density suburbs, particularly on Sydney’s north shore and eastern suburbs. Suburbs in the Ku-ring-gai council area, such as Turramurra, Pymble and Gordon, typically stay below 2,500 offences per 100,000, placing them among the safest suburbs in Sydney. Strong socio-economic conditions, effective policing and tight community ties do most of the work.

One nuance worth flagging: rising domestic violence court actions in NSW do not mean rising offending. BOCSAR notes DV assault incidents stayed stable while the share resulting in a charge climbed from 65.7% to 69.4% over the past year, lifting court actions by about 9.5%. That is stronger enforcement, not a worsening problem, and it is a good example of why a rising figure needs context.

Crime Rate Comparison: Victoria vs New South Wales

The two biggest states tell different stories. Victoria’s crime is heavily concentrated in inner Melbourne and a handful of regional centres, and its rate is now easing after a long climb. NSW spreads its challenges more evenly, with remote towns like Walgett and the higher-crime Western Sydney suburbs carrying the load, on a base that has stayed broadly stable. Weighing up both states? Our Melbourne to Sydney road trip guide covers the corridor between them.

Measure	Victoria	New South Wales
Overall trend	Crime rate down 1.9% (YE Mar 2026), first fall in ~4 years	Broadly stable over 2 years to Mar 2026
Highest-crime area	City of Melbourne, 17,110 per 100k	Walgett Shire (regional), plus Sydney CBD 16,632 per 100k
Other hot areas	Latrobe 12,923, Yarra 12,312 per 100k	Mount Druitt, Blacktown (Western Sydney)
Lowest-crime area	The Patch, ~1,147 per 100k	Ku-ring-gai suburbs, under 2,500 per 100k
Most common offences	Theft from vehicles, order breaches	Retail theft, vehicle theft, order breaches
Homicide rate per 100k	0.93 (2024-25)	1.02 (2024-25)

Sources: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria (YE Mar 2026), NSW BOCSAR (2 years to Mar 2026), Australian Institute of Criminology (homicide, 2024-25).

Property theft and family violence are the shared headaches in both states. But the safe suburbs in each, The Patch in Victoria and the Ku-ring-gai area in NSW, show how sharply an urban or rural, rich or poor divide shapes local safety. For a mover, the state you pick matters far less than the specific suburb, which is the whole point of reading the data before you sign a lease and book your removalist with confidence.

How Australia’s Crime Rate Is Changing in 2026

Zoom out to the national view and the 2026 story is mixed. Property crime and serious violence are easing in several states, yet recorded family and sexual violence keep climbing, partly because more victims are coming forward. The ABS Recorded Crime figures capture that split clearly.

Assault victims rose 4% nationally to 79,624, a rate of 938 per 100,000, and almost half of all assaults, 38,722 victims, were family and domestic violence related. Sexual assault reached 40,087 recorded victims, the highest in the 31-year series, with 81% of victims female. These are the offences to watch, and they sit behind the rise in order breaches that now tops the Victorian table.

Homicide remains rare in absolute terms. The Australian Institute of Criminology recorded 264 homicide incidents and 279 victims in 2024-25, roughly one victim per 100,000 nationally. That is the number that keeps Australia near the top of global safety rankings, even as day-to-day property crime frustrates residents in the busier LGAs and pushes many toward the quieter northern suburbs of Melbourne. When they make that move, our affordable removalists in Melbourne handle the heavy lifting.

Frequently Asked Questions on City Crime in Australia

What is the most dangerous suburb in Australia?

Adelaide’s Noarlunga Centre is frequently named the most dangerous suburb, topping recent police data for per-capita violent crime and assaults. Elizabeth in South Australia also ranks high, and Port Adelaide and Dandenong in Melbourne regularly show elevated offence rates. Rankings shift year to year, so always check the current local data before deciding.

Which city has the highest crime rate in Australia?

Alice Springs, at 37,955 offences per 100,000 residents for the year to November 2025. It is several times higher than any capital and about 2.8 times Darwin’s rate. Encouragingly, Alice Springs offences fell 43% year on year to December 2025, so the trend is improving even though the rate is still the nation’s highest.

What are the worst drug-affected towns in Australia?

Alice Springs is often singled out for alcohol-related violence and methamphetamine harm. Tennant Creek in the NT and Wilcannia in NSW are also frequently flagged for high substance abuse and related offending. Some regional NSW towns, such as Kempsey, appear in police statistics for elevated drug offences too.

How does Australia’s crime rate compare globally?

Australia sits among the safer developed nations. Its homicide rate is about 1 per 100,000, compared with roughly 6 to 7 per 100,000 in the United States. International comparisons show Australia with lower recorded violent crime than Canada and the US, which is why it consistently ranks well on global safety indexes.

Which Australian state has the most murders?

New South Wales recorded the most homicide incidents in 2024-25 by raw count, given its large population. But per capita, the Northern Territory leads by a wide margin at 4.96 homicides per 100,000, versus about 1 nationally. Small population plus high offending is why the NT’s rate sits so far above everyone else.

Is crime going up or down in Australia in 2026?

It depends on the offence. Property crime and serious violence are easing in states like Victoria, where the overall rate fell 1.9% in the year to March 2026. But recorded family, domestic and sexual violence rose nationally, partly reflecting more victims reporting. So the direction is genuinely mixed rather than simply up or down.

What is the safest capital city in Australia?

Canberra, Hobart and Adelaide are the safest capitals, with total offences roughly between 5,000 and 6,500 per 100,000 and low serious violence. Within any city, the suburb matters more than the city average, so a safe suburb in Melbourne can easily beat a rough pocket of a lower-crime capital.

Crime Data Sorted, Now Let North Removals Handle the Move

The clear lesson from the 2026 data is that crime in Australia is not one-size-fits-all. Alice Springs and Darwin run far above Hobart or Adelaide, and within a single state a quiet suburb can sit next door to a hotspot.

Victoria’s first crime drop in almost four years and the sharp fall in Alice Springs are real bright spots. Even so, the smart move is still to check the numbers for the exact postcode you are considering, not the city average.

Over 20 years I have moved families out of high-crime streets and watched their shoulders drop the moment they settled somewhere safer. If safety is shaping your next move, cross-reference this guide with Melbourne’s worst suburbs and the fastest-growing suburbs guide.

It also helps to line up budget with safety, so pair those suburb rankings with our rundown of Melbourne’s cost of living. When you are ready, our crews cover Melbourne and regional Victoria and will make the move smooth and secure.