The ACT sits near the bottom of Australia's car theft tables — well under a thousand vehicles in a typical recent year. But Canberra's compact geography concentrates that risk in predictable places, and the territory's high keyless-vehicle uptake creates its own exposure.
The numbers
Vehicle theft in the ACT runs at a few hundred to under a thousand reports a year — a rounding error next to Victoria's tens of thousands, but real if it's your car. Reports cluster around suburban streets and driveways, town centre and shopping precinct car parks, and park-and-ride facilities where cars sit predictably for hours.
What gets targeted
The ACT mirrors the national pattern in miniature:
- Older, pre-immobiliser cars — the easiest targets for opportunists.
- Keyless late models — Canberra's newer-than-average fleet, including its nation-leading EV uptake, is exactly the profile electronic relay and cloning attacks work on.
- Number plates — plate theft is a persistent problem, with stolen plates used on other vehicles and in fuel drive-offs, sometimes across the border.
How cars are being stolen
As everywhere in Australia, most thefts start at a home — keys taken in a break-in or from an unlocked house — with the ABS putting around six in ten thefts at a residence nationally. Canberra's proximity to Queanbeyan and the surrounding NSW region also means stolen vehicles readily move across jurisdictions.
Protecting your car
- Keys and fobs away from the front door; keyless fobs in a Faraday pouch.
- Garage or off-street parking where possible; well-lit spots at the shops.
- One-way screws on your number plates — the cheapest fix in this list.
- An OBD port lock for keyless models, including EVs.
- A GPS tracker or the car's own connected app, with location alerts enabled.
Buying a used car? Check first
- Run a PPSR check for stolen status, write-off history and finance owing — it's national, so it covers the many NSW-registered cars sold into the ACT.
- Match the VIN to the papers and the seller's ID to the registered operator.
- Treat a bargain price on a popular model with appropriate suspicion.
If your car is stolen
Call 000 if it's happening now, or 131 444 to report to ACT Policing. Notify your insurer and Access Canberra, and watch for fines or tolls accruing in your name.
ACT Policing publishes current crime statistics online; figures above reflect reporting available in early 2026.