Sexual assaults increased dramatically in Australia in 2023 along with motor vehicle theft and other assorted offences, coinciding with the country’s highest-ever net migration figure of more than half a million people, official statistics show.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics data outlines a range of personal, household and family and domestic violence offences as recorded by police, and shows a number of record highs over the last three decades.
Most prominently, the data shows a significant increase in sexual assault. Nationally, the number of victims reported rose by 11% – or 3,547 victims – from 2022 to a total of 36,318.
The per capita victimisation rate also grew from 126 to 136 victims per 100,000 persons – the “highest rate recorded in the [thirty year] time series”.
The statistics show that the national sexual assault victimisation rate almost doubled over the last three decades, growing from under 70 victims per 100,000 people in the early 1990s to the almost 140 victims seen in 2023.
In New South Wales, the most populous state, victims of of sexual assault increased by 19% – or 2,296 victims – from 2022. In total, the ABS recorded 14,708 victims in the state and a per capita rate that grew from 152 to 176 victims, a record high for the time series. This was also NSW’s twelfth annual increase in victim numbers.
Similar trends were seen nationwide. The sexual assault rate in Queensland was up 11% on 2022. In Western Australia this number was the second highest seen in the period. In the ACT, the rate grew by 15% to a record high in the time series.
Motor vehicle theft also reached unheard of highs in 2023. Nationally, the number of stolen vehicles recorded grew by 10% to total more than 60,000, the highest since 2008.
This was seen across almost the entire country. Yet it was particularly pronounced in our immigration-heavy east coast, with over two thirds of migrants settling in Victoria or New South Wales.
In Victoria, motor vehicle theft grew by 24% – or almost 2.5 times the national average. In New South Wales, it was nearly double the Australian average at 18%. In Queensland, police saw “the highest recorded number of victims of motor vehicle theft since 2000”.
“Victims of motor vehicle theft increased in all states and territories except the Australian Capital Territory,” the ABS said.
But the number of assaults in the ACT grew for the third consecutive year to the highest in the time series.
In Queensland, “other theft” was up 20% to reach its highest level since 1995. The same was seen in Tasmania where “other theft” rose 31% to reach its highest point since 2006.
The Northern Territory witnessed a number of record highs. Sexual assault grew by 25% to its highest point since the series began in the early 1990s.
Unlawful entry with intent increased by 6% to its highest level since 1993. Assault was up 11% on the year prior to its highest point since 1995. Motor vehicle theft grew by 23% on 2022 to another record high.
During 2023 Australia’s population grew by 651,200 people, with net overseas migration of 547,300. 751,500 people immigrated to Australia, a 15% increase since 2022. Net migration in NSW was 184,619, and in Victoria it was 160,175.
Header image credit: Dmitry Schemelev on Unsplash and ABS.
