Along with a range of other factors, the area you live in can have a significant impact on the cost of your home and contents insurance premiums. Insurers use crime rates in their methodology for determining the likelihood of you making a claim. Thus, if you live in an area with high rates of home burglaries and theft, you can expect that to add to the cost of your annual home and contents insurance bill.
Based on the available crime statistics in each state, listed below are the reported top hotspots for home theft, burglary or break-ins in each state. While these statistics can help give an idea of where the threat of a home burglary is higher, take them with a pinch of salt. Rates of crime can wildly fluctuate, particularly in regions with small populations. Also, particular suburbs and streets within these hotspots can be significantly safer than others.
Since some crimes are reported differently between states, only areas within the same state can be compared against each other for home theft rates. For instance, in QLD the “unlawful dwelling entry with intent” rate was used whereas in Victoria the “burglary/break and enter” rate was cited.
Home Burglary Hotspots in:
New South Wales
Victoria
Queensland
Western Australia
South Australia
Tasmania
Don’t forget that your home security measures can reduce your premium. Check out these articles for tips:
- How to prevent your home being broken into – again!
- Should you install an alarm system?
- 15 minutes is all it takes…
NSW
Using the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research’s online Crime Mapping Tool, the below burglary hotspots were identified for both the Greater Sydney area and the rest of NSW.
Top 10 Burglary Hotspots – Greater Sydney
| Rank | Local Government Area | Incidents Of Theft (Break & Enter Dwelling Rate Per 100,000 Population) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Strathfield | 554.9 |
| 2 | Campbelltown | 540.6 |
| 3 | Holroyd | 530.0 |
| 4 | Penrith | 528.0 |
| 5 | Parramatta | 522.0 |
| 6 | Blacktown | 490.2 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 477.4 |
| 8 | Sydney | 454.3 |
| 9 | Burwood | 432.7 |
| 10 | Ashfield | 396.2 |
| State Average | 432.4 | |
Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Year to December 2015
Top 10 Burglary Hotspots – Rest of NSW:
| Rank | Local Government Area | Incidents Of Theft (Break & Enter Dwelling Rate Per 100,000 Population) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bourke | 2907.2 |
| 2 | Coonamble | 2503.0 |
| 3 | Wellington | 1973.2 |
| 4 | Walgett | 1971.2 |
| 5 | Armidale | 1760.4 |
| 6 | Moree Plains | 1732.1 |
| 7 | Narromine | 1532.8 |
| 8 | Gilgandra | 1384.9 |
| 9 | Wagga Wagga | 1311.8 |
| 10 | Kempsey | 1280.9 |
| State Average | 432.4 | |
Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Year to December 2015
Preview the of current market offerings for home and contents insurance in NSW below in our comparison table. These products also feature theft or attempted theft cover. Please note that these have been sorted by star ratings (highest to lowest) and are based on a policy holder aged below 50 years who own property and contents that would cost below $550k to replace.
Check Home and Contents Insurance Star Ratings for NSW & ACT
Victoria
Using data from Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency, the below burglary/break and enter hotspots for both Greater Melbourne and the rest of Victoria were identified.
Top 10 Burglary Hotspots – Greater Melbourne
| Rank | LGA | 2015 Burglary/Break And Enter Rate (Per 1,000 Population) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yarra | 13.87 |
| 2 | Melbourne | 13.64 |
| 3 | Darebin | 12.54 |
| 4 | Hume | 11.27 |
| 5 | Stonnington | 11.23 |
| 6 | Port Phillip | 10.66 |
| 7 | Greater Dandenong | 10.53 |
| 8 | Moreland | 10.49 |
| 9 | Brimbank | 9.92 |
| 10 | Maribyrnong | 9.89 |
| State Average | 8.35 | |
Source: Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) . Rates and averages calculated by CANSTAR based on CSA data
Top 10 Burglary Hotspots – Rest of VIC
| Rank | LGA | 2015 Burglary/Break And Enter Rate (Per 1,000 Population) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballarat | 13.19 |
| 2 | Latrobe | 12.83 |
| 3 | Greater Shepparton | 12.63 |
| 4 | Mildura | 12.14 |
| 5 | Wellington | 11.49 |
| 6 | Greater Geelong | 10.96 |
| 7 | Campaspe | 10.67 |
| 8 | Hepburn | 10.04 |
| 9 | Murrindindi | 9.34 |
| 10 | Central Goldfields | 8.51 |
| State Average | 8.35 | |
Source: Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) . Rates calculated by CANSTAR based on CSA data
Preview the current market offerings for home and contents insurance in Victoria below in our comparison table. These products also feature theft or attempted theft cover. Please note that these have been sorted by star ratings (highest to lowest) and are based on a policy holder aged below 50 years who own building and contents that would cost below $550k to replace.
Check Home and Contents Insurance Star Ratings for Victoria
Queensland
Through the Queensland Police Service’s reported crime trend data per division, the following hotspots were identified for Greater Brisbane and the rest of Queensland.
Top 10 Home Break-In Hotspots* – Greater Brisbane
| Rank | Police Division | Unlawful Dwelling Entry With Intent – 2015 Average Monthly Rate (Per 100,000) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Logan Central | 75.95 |
| 2 | Acacia Ridge | 73.19 |
| 3 | Annerley | 69.50 |
| 4 | Booval | 66.73 |
| 5 | Upper Mount Gravatt | 64.00 |
| 6 | Dutton Park | 62.58 |
| 7 | Crestmead | 62.27 |
| 8 | Beenleigh | 60.84 |
| 9 | Inala | 55.86 |
| 10 | Ipswich | 55.84 |
| State Average | 34.31 | |
Source: QPS Reported Crime Trend Data. Averages calculated by CANSTAR based on QPS data
*Districts with populations of less than 2,000 have been excluded by CANSTAR.
Top 10 Home Break-In Hotspots* – Rest of QLD
| Rank | Police Division | Unlawful Dwelling Entry With Intent – 2015 Average Monthly Rate (Per 100,000) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cairns | 100.11 |
| 2 | Mundingburra | 83.05 |
| 3 | Charters Towers | 79.02 |
| 4 | Weipa | 72.22 |
| 5 | Townsville | 67.62 |
| 6 | Saint George | 63.22 |
| 7 | Edmonton | 58.67 |
| 8 | Mareeba | 56.48 |
| 9 | Surfers Paradise | 55.55 |
| 10 | Yarrabah | 55.29 |
| State Average | 34.31 | |
Source: QPS Reported Crime Trend Data. Averages calculated by CANSTAR based on QPS data
*Districts with populations of less than 2,000 have been excluded by CANSTAR.
Preview the current market offerings for home and contents insurance in Queensland below in our comparison table. These products also feature theft or attempted theft cover. Please note that these have been sorted by star ratings (highest to lowest) and are based on a policy holder aged below 50 years who own building and contents that would cost below $550k to replace.
Check Home and Contents Insurance Star Ratings for South QLD
Western Australia
In early 2015, Western Australian insurer RAC revealed the worst suburbs for burglary claims throughout the State, based on over 2,500 RAC Insurance claims in 2014.
Top 10 Home Break-In Hotspots – Greater Perth
| Rank | Town/Suburb |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bassendean, Beechboro, Thornlie |
| 2 | Morley |
| 3 | Duncraig |
| 4 | Canning Vale, Hamilton Hill |
| 5 | Gosnells |
| 6 | Spearwood |
| 7 | Armadale |
| 8 | Rockingham |
| 9 | Baldivis, Port Kennedy |
| 10 | Ballajura |
Source: RAC 2014 Home Burglaries Analysis
Top 10 Home Break-In Hotspots – Rest of WA
| Rank | Town/Suburb |
|---|---|
| 1 | Boulder |
| 2 | Carey Park |
| 3 | South Bunbury |
| 4 | Northam |
| 5 | Australind |
| 6 | South Kalgoorlie |
| 7 | Kalgoorlie |
| 8 | East Bunbury |
| 9 | Dalyellup |
| 10 | Piccadilly |
Source: RAC 2014 Home Burglaries Analysis
Preview the current market offerings for home and contents insurance in Western Australia below in our comparison table. These products also feature theft or attempted theft cover. Please note that these have been sorted by star ratings (highest to lowest) and are based on a policy holder aged below 50 years who own building and contents that would cost below $550k to replace.
Check Home and Contents Insurance Star Ratings for WA
South Australia
South Australia’s Office of Crime Statistics and Research has a crime mapper tool which reveals the criminal trespass/break and enter rates in 2013 for each local government area.
Top 10 break and enter hot spots – Greater Adelaide
| Rank | LGA | 2013 Serious Criminal Trespass/Break And Enter Rate (Per 1,000 Population) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Playford | 15.7 |
| 2 | Port Adelaide Enfield | 13.33 |
| 3 | Charles Sturt | 12.28 |
| 4 | Adelaide | 11.89 |
| 5 | Walkerville | 11.54 |
| 6 | Prospect | 11.36 |
| 7 | Gawler | 10.75 |
| 8 | Marion | 10.3 |
| 9 | Onkaparinga | 8.88 |
| 10 | Salisbury | 8.59 |
| State Average | 8.98 | |
Source: Crime Mapper 2009-2013, Office of Crime Statistics and Research. Rates and averages calculated by CANSTAR
Top 10 break and enter hot spots – Rest of SA
| Rank | LGA | 2013 Serious Criminal Trespass/Break And Enter Rate (Per 1,000 Population) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coober Pedy | 70.51 |
| 2 | Anangu Pitjantjatjara | 40.6 |
| 3 | Ceduna | 30.25 |
| 4 | Port Lincoln | 16.22 |
| 5 | Port Augusta | 14.65 |
| 6 | Peterborough | 11.76 |
| 7 | Whyalla | 11.17 |
| 8 | Yankalilla | 10.32 |
| 9 | Flinders Ranges | 10.31 |
| 10 | Port Pirie | 9.36 |
| State Average | 8.98 | |
Source: Crime Mapper 2009-2013, Office of Crime Statistics and Research. Rates and averages calculated by CANSTAR
Check Home and Contents Insurance Star Ratings for SA
Tasmania
Tasmania has a small population and the lowest crime rates in the country. So instead of placing the top 10 home burglary suburbs/towns, all eleven of Tasmania’s police divisions have been ranked by their home burglary rate for the year June 2014-2015.
| Rank | Division | June 2014/15 Annual Home Burglary Offences Per 10,000 Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Launceston | 64 |
| 2 | Glenorchy | 59 |
| 3 | Hobart | 52 |
| 4 | South-East | 44 |
| 5 | Kingston | 38 |
| 6 | Bridgewater | 38 |
| 7 | Devonport | 34 |
| 8 | North-East | 17 |
| 9 | Deloraine | 16 |
| 10 | Burnie | 15 |
| 11 | Queenstown | 2 |
| Average | 34 | |
Source: Tasmania Police Annual (June) 2015 Corporate Performance Report. State average calculated by CANSTAR
Preview the current market offerings for home and contents insurance in Tasmania below in our comparison table. These products also feature theft or attempted theft cover. Please note that these have been sorted by star ratings (highest to lowest) and are based on a policy holder aged below 50 years who own building and contents that would cost below $550k to replace.
Share this article