Shipping containers full of stolen cars from an Australian state are turning up overseas, with the global black market fuelling rampant thefts.
More cars were stolen or broken into in Melbourne than every other capital city combined, analysis of Insurance Statistics Australia data released on Thursday reveals.
More than 12,300 motor vehicle theft and burglary claims were lodged in Victoria in 2025/26, with about 10,000 coming from Melbourne.
Every other state and territory in Australia recorded a decline over the same period, the Insurance Council of Australia report said.
"Victoria has the crown of the worst crime record in Australia," the council's chief executive Andrew Hall told reporters.
Paying out the Victorian claims cost insurers $244 million, up from $223 million in 2024/25 and $52 million in 2021/22.
It compares to $113 million in Queensland, $98.7 million in NSW, $22 million in Western Australia, $17.9 million in South Australia, $4.3 million in the Northern Territory and $4.2 million in Tasmania.
Demand for car parts from sanctioned countries such as Russia and others in the Middle East had created a huge black market, with vehicles turning up locally months later with parts missing or sent straight overseas, Mr Hall said.
Victoria was the main target across the country as organised criminal activity chased the "weakest link", he said.
"We're seeing cars that have been stolen off the streets here in Melbourne ending up in shipping containers in Dubai," Mr Hall said.
"We're being contacted by authorities overseas saying, 'hey, we've just found a shipping container full of cars registered to Victoria and insured by you'.
"Clearly this is a problem that has generated into organised activity on the streets of Melbourne."
Earlier in 2026, police in Victoria and Queensland laid charges against a Melbourne man and seven foreign nationals as part of an investigation into a crime syndicate shipping stolen cars from Australia to the United Arab Emirates.
The group was accused of stealing more than 150 vehicles, including high-end Toyota models, worth over $20 million from Victoria.
Police allege the syndicate began operating in Victoria but was disrupted and forced to relocate to Queensland in October.
Another 60 LandCruisers and Prados were stolen across the Brisbane region between October 20 and December 1.
Insurance data on property theft and burglaries also showed Victoria fared the worst of any jurisdiction, with 3900 claims last financial year.
A car was stolen or broken into every 43 minutes in Victoria over the 12-month span, while a home was broken into every two hours.
The data formed part of the insurance council's election platform, with crime a major battleground as the coalition and One Nation try to unseat the three-term Labor state government in November.
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll said the figures were concerning and acknowledged the government needed to do more to drive down crime rates.
Mr Carroll pointed to recent initiatives to place protective service officers in shopping centres and strips, call in reservists to get more officers on the beat and shut down tobacco shops through closure powers.
"Should we have done things quicker? Of course we should have but we're doing it now," he said.
Opposition police spokesman Brad Battin said Mr Carroll's mea culpa was an admission of "12 years of failure".
"Ben Carroll can't come out just before an election and say 'trust me, I'll fix it'."
The insurance lobby has recommended the next Victorian government develop and implement a statewide strategy to reduce car theft and property crime.
