Recorded Crime - Victims

From March 2020, Australia’s federal, state and territory governments introduced a variety of measures to slow the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). These measures had a subsequent impact on the level of crime recorded by state and territory police during the 2020 reference period.

Property crime decreased across all states and territories during 2020, with the largest falls observed nationally between the March and June quarters, when COVID-19 measures first came into effect.

The number of victims of unlawful entry with intent (UEWI) decreased by 23% from 2019 to 133,870 victims in 2020. This was the lowest number of victims recorded for this offence across the twenty-eight year time series.

Between the March and June quarters of 2020, the number of victims of UEWI declined by 41% (19,528 victims), coinciding with the introduction of restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. This compared with an average 3% decrease over the previous five years between the March and June quarters.

The number of victims of motor vehicle theft decreased by 17% from 2019 to 48,056 victims in 2020. This was the lowest number of victims for this offence recorded across the twenty-eight year time series.

Between the March and June quarters of 2020, the number of victims of motor vehicle theft declined by 34% (5,374 victims), coinciding with the introduction of restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. This compared with an average 4% decrease over the previous five years between the March and June quarters.

The number of victims of other theft decreased by 23% from 2019 to 436,615 victims in 2020. This was the lowest number of victims for this offence recorded across the twenty-six year time series. Other theft includes offences such as theft from a person and theft from retail premises.

Between the March and June quarters of 2020, the number of victims of other theft declined by 39% (57,891 victims), coinciding with the introduction of restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. This compared with an average 1% increase over the previous five years between the March and June quarters.

In 2020, there were 396 victims of homicide and related offences recorded by the police. This was a decrease of 19 victims from 2019.

In 2020, most homicide and related offences:

• occurred at a residential location (61% or 241 victims)
• involved the use of a weapon (59% or 232 victims), most commonly a knife (116 victims)

For victims of homicide and related offences:

• around two-thirds (67%) were male (264 victims)
• two-fifths (40%) were aged between 35 to 54 years at the date of report (160 victims)
• more than a third (37%) were family and domestic violence (FDV) related incidents (145 victims)

There were 27,505 victims of sexual assault recorded by police in 2020. This was an increase of 2% (645 victims) from 2019 to the highest number recorded across the twenty-eight year time series.

Accounting for population growth, the sexual assault victimisation rate increased from 69 victims per 100,000 persons in 1993 to 107 victims per 100,000 persons in 2020.

The states and territories with the largest increase in the number of sexual assault victims between 2019 and 2020 were:

• Western Australia (up 279 victims or 10%)
• New South Wales (up 267 victims or 2%)
• Queensland (up 261 victims or 5%)

There were decreases in:

• Victoria (down 266 victims or 5%)
• the Australian Capital Territory (down 38 victims or 12%)

For victims of sexual assault in 2020:

• most were female (84% or 23,153 victims)
• almost half (46%) were aged under 15 years at the date of incident (12,613 victims)
• almost a third (32%) reported the incident to police a year or more after it occurred (8,684 victims)
• over a third (37%) were FDV-related incidents (10,162 victims)

Most sexual assaults:

• were reported to the police within a year of the incident (68% or 18,809 victims)
• occurred at a residential location (66% or 18,057 victims)
• did not involve a weapon (95% or 25,988 victims)

Between 2019 and 2020, victims who reported an incident of sexual assault to police:

• within a year, decreased from 19,571 to 18,809 victims (down 4%)
• one year and over, increased from 7,272 to 8,684 victims (up 19%)

The number of victims of robbery decreased by 20% (2,365 victims) from 2019 to 9,409 victims in 2020. This was the first decrease following four consecutive annual increases between 2016 and 2019.

The number of victims of robbery decreased across all states and territories except the Northern Territory, with the largest decreases in:

• Victoria (down 1,134 victims or 29%)
• Queensland (down 402 victims or 15%)
• New South Wales (down 379 victims or 13%)

For victims of robbery:

• over a third (35%) of the incidents occurred on a street/footpath (3,245 victims)
• half (50%) of the incidents involved a weapon (4,746 victims)
• a knife was the most common weapon used for armed robbery incidents (48% or 2,292 victims)

The number of victims of unlawful entry with intent decreased by 23% (39,477 victims) from 2019 to 133,870 victims in 2020. This was the lowest number recorded for this offence across the twenty-eight year time series and coincided with the restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. Between 1993 and 2020, the number of victims of unlawful entry with intent decreased by 65% (247,913 victims).

The number of victims of unlawful entry with intent decreased across all the states and territories from the previous year. The largest decreases were for:

• Western Australia (down 11,489 victims or 36%)
• New South Wales (down 8,480 victims or 25%)
• Victoria (down 8,474 victims or 21%)

In 2020, most unlawful entry with intent:

• involved the taking of property (62% or 83,358 victims)
• occurred at a residential location (71% or 95,482 victims)

The number of motor vehicle thefts decreased by 17% (9,931 victims) from the previous year to 48,056 victims in 2020, the lowest recorded number across the twenty-eight year time series.

Motor vehicle thefts decreased across all states and territories from the previous year, with the largest decreases in:

• New South Wales (down 3,207 victims or 25%)
• Victoria (down 2,487 victims or 16%)
• Western Australia (down 2,326 victims or 30%)

The most common locations for motor vehicle theft were:

• outbuilding/residential land (including a driveway, carport, or garage) (52% or 25,063 victims)
• street/footpath (26% or 12,374 victims)

The decline in motor vehicle theft coincided with the restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The number of victims of other theft offences decreased by 23% (132,628 victims) from the previous year to 436,615 victims in 2020. This was the lowest number for this offence in the twenty-six year time series. Other theft includes offences such as theft from a person and theft from retail premises.

Victims of other theft decreased for all states and territories, with the largest decreases in:

• Western Australia (down 30,095 victims or 34%)
• New South Wales (down 34,421 victims or 26%)
• Queensland (down 29,743 victims or 22%)
• Victoria (down 23,291 victims or 17%)

The most common locations for other thefts were:

• retail (37% or 162,079 victims)
• residential (32% or 140,728 victims)

Between 2019 and 2020, incidents of other theft at retail locations decreased by 26% (56,356 victims).

The drop in other theft coincided with restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

There were 99 victims of homicide and related offences in New South Wales in 2020, a decrease of 17 victims from the previous year.

For homicide and related offences:

• two-thirds (67%) of victims were male (66 victims)
• the most common age at report was between 35 and 54 years (40% or 40 victims)
• around two-fifths (38%) were recorded as family and domestic violence (FDV) related (38 victims)
• the majority (66%) occurred at a residential location (65 victims)

The number of victims of assault recorded in New South Wales decreased by 4% (2,754 victims) from 2019 to 64,907 victims in 2020. The victimisation rate also declined, from 836 to 795 victims per 100,000 persons.

Most assaults:

• occurred at a residential location (58% or 37,858 victims)
• did not involve the use of a weapon (96% or 62,261 victims)

For victims of assault:

• over half (53%) were male (34,081 victims)
• around a quarter (24%) were aged between 25 and 34 years at the date of report (15,729 victims)
• a higher proportion of females (54% or 16,430 victims) were assaulted by a family member compared with males (24% or 8,263 victims)

There were 11,276 victims of sexual assault in 2020, up 2% (267 victims) from the previous year.

Between 2019 and 2020, victims who reported an incident of sexual assault to police:

• within a year, decreased from 8,225 to 7,369 victims (down 11%)
• one year and over, increased from 2,732 to 3,902 victims (up 43%)

Most sexual assaults in 2020:

• occurred at a residential location (58% or 6,590 victims)
• did not involve the use of a weapon (almost 100% or 11,259 victims)

Most victims of sexual assault:

• were female (81% or 9,120 victims)
• were aged under 15 years at the date of incident (56% or 6,343 victims)
• knew the offender (78% or 8,804 victims)

Around two in five (38%) sexual assault incidents were FDV-related (4,288 victims).

The number of victims of robbery decreased to the lowest recorded number in the twenty-eight year time series, down 13% (379 victims) from 2019 to 2,482 victims in 2020.

For victims of robbery:

• more than a third (34%) of the incidents occurred on a street or footpath (847 victims)
• just under half (48%) of the incidents involved a weapon (1,187 victims)
• 90% were person victims (2,237 victims) and 10% were organisations (245 victims)
• over three-quarters (78%) of person victims were male (1,749 victims)

The number of victims of unlawful entry with intent decreased by 25% from the previous year to 26,084 victims in 2020. This was the lowest recorded number in the twenty-eight year time series and coincided with the restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Around three-quarters of these offences occurred at a residential location (74% or 19,377 victims).

There was a large decline in thefts recorded in New South Wales in 2020 with:

• motor vehicle theft down 25% to 9,435 victims
• other theft down 26% to 99,245 victims

An outbuilding or residential land (including a driveway, carport or garage) was the most common location from which a motor vehicle was stolen (45% or 4,268 victims).

A retail location was the most common location for other theft offences (37% or 36,210 victims).

There were 98 victims of homicide and related offences recorded in Victoria in 2020, a decrease of 5 victims from the previous year.

Most victims of homicide and related offences:

• were male (68% or 67 victims)
• knew the offender (61% or 60 victims)

Over a third (36%) of homicide and related offences were recorded as family and domestic violence (FDV) related (35 victims).

There were 5,513 victims of sexual assault recorded in Victoria in 2020, a decrease of 5% (266 victims) from 2019. This was the third consecutive annual decrease in victims of this offence.

The victimisation rate also declined from 88 to 82 victims per 100,000 persons.

Most sexual assaults:

• occurred at a residential location (72% or 3,991 victims)
• did not involve the use of a weapon (98% or 5,387 victims)

Most sexual assault victims:

• were female (87% or 4,770 victims)
• knew the offender (76% or 4,211 victims)

Over a third of all victims of sexual assault:

• reported the incident to police a year or more after it occurred (36% or 2,009 victims)
• were aged under 15 years at the date of incident (34% or 1,848 victims) which was double the proportion of victims aged under 15 at the date of report (17% or 945 victims)

More than two in five victims of sexual assault (43%) were recorded with an FDV-related incident (2,366 victims).

Between 2019 and 2020, victims who reported an incident of sexual assault to police:

• within a year, decreased from 3,772 to 3,505 victims (down 7%)
• one year and over, remained relatively stable with 2,008 victims in 2019 and 2,009 victims in 2020

There were 2,720 victims of robbery recorded in Victoria in 2020, a decrease of 29% (or 1,134 victims) from the previous year.

More than half of robberies:

• involved the use of a weapon (56% or 1,509 victims)
• occurred at a community location (54% or 1,460 victims), mostly a street or footpath (1,015 victims)

The majority (97% or 2,631 victims) were persons (3% were organisations), most of whom were male (81% or 2,142 victims).

Over a quarter were aged between 15 and 19 years at the date of report (28% or 744 victims).

There were 31,286 victims of unlawful entry with intent recorded in Victoria in 2020, a decrease of 21% from 2019 (8,474 victims).

Most unlawful entry with intent offences occurred at a residential location (68% or 21,161 victims).

There were 13,412 victims of motor vehicle theft recorded in Victoria during 2020, a decrease of 16% (2,487 victims) from 2019.

Almost half (47%) of all stolen motor vehicles were taken from a residential location (6,259 victims).

There were 113,436 victims of other theft recorded in Victoria in 2020, a decrease of 17% (or 23,291 victims) from the previous year.

More than:

• a third (37%) of all other thefts occurred at a residential location (41,860 victims)
• a quarter (28%) of all other thefts occurred at a retail location (31,663 victims)

In 2020, there were 95 victims of homicide and related offences in Queensland, a decrease of eight victims from the previous year.

For victims of homicide and related offences:

• most were male (71% or 67 victims)
• just under half (47%) knew the offender (45 victims)
• the majority (56%) of incidents occurred at a residential location (53 victims)

There were 5,120 victims of sexual assault recorded in 2020, an increase of 5% (261 victims) from the previous year. This was the highest recorded number of victims in the twenty-eight year time series. Between 2019 and 2020 the victimisation rate increased from 95 to 99 victims per 100,000 persons.

Most sexual assaults:

• occurred at a residential location (70% or 3,565 victims)
• did not involve a weapon (92% or 4,721 victims)

For victims of sexual assault:

• there were over six times more female than male victims (4,413 female and 691 male victims)
• just under half (47%) were aged under 15 years at the date of incident (2,409 victims)
• over a third (35%) were recorded as family and domestic violence (FDV) related (1,798 victims)

The number of victims of robbery declined for the first time in six years, down 15% (402 victims) from the previous year to 2,219 victims in 2020.

For victims of robbery:

• most incidents occurred on either a street/footpath (31% or 685 victims) or at a retail location (25% or 563 victims)
• just under half (48%) were armed robberies (1,065 victims)
• 81% were persons (1,793 victims) and 19% were organisations (426 victims)

For person victims of robbery:

• there were more than twice as many male victims than female victims (1,275 male and 511 female victims)
• most (76%) did not know the offender (1,361 victims)

There were 37,359 victims of unlawful entry with intent in Queensland in 2020, a decline of 11% (4,553 victims) from the previous year.

Almost three-quarters (74%) of these offences occurred at a residential location (27,509 victims).

The number of victims of motor vehicle theft declined for the first time in six years, down 5% (or 708 victims) from 2019 to 13,758 victims in 2020.

An outbuilding or residential land (including a driveway, carport or garage) was the most common location from which a motor vehicle was stolen (61% or 8,342 victims).

The number of victims of other theft decreased by 22% from the previous year, to 107,134 victims in 2020, coinciding with the restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Nearly half (47%) of other theft offences occurred at a retail location (50,195 victims) and around a quarter (26%) occurred at a residential location (28,318 victims).

There were 28 victims of homicide and related offences recorded in South Australia.

Most victims of homicide and related offences:

• were male (68% or 19 victims)
• knew the offender (82% or 23 victims)

Most homicide offences:

• occurred at a residential location (68% or 19 victims)
• involved the use of a weapon (61% or 17 victims)

More than two in five (43%) homicide and related offences were recorded as family and domestic violence (FDV) related (12 victims).

There were 17,226 victims of assault recorded in South Australia in 2020, an increase of 7% from the previous year (1,061 victims).

The victimisation rate increased from 923 to 973 victims per 100,000 persons.

Most assaults:

• occurred at a residential location (60% or 10,292 victims)
• did not involve the use of a weapon (72% or 12,370 victims)

Most assault victims:

• were female (54% or 9,283 victims)
• knew the offender (73% or 12,556 victims)

Around a quarter (26%) of all victims of assault were aged between 25 and 34 years (4,500 victims).

For victims of assault, half (50%) of the incidents were FDV-related (8,686 victims). Almost three-quarters of these were female (74% or 6,421 victims).

There were 1,625 victims of sexual assault recorded in South Australia in 2020, an increase of 5% (75 victims) from the previous year.

The victimisation rate increased from 89 to 92 victims per 100,000 persons.

Most sexual assaults:

• occurred at a residential location (70% or 1,133 victims)
• did not involve the use of a weapon (90% or 1,467 victims)

Most victims of sexual assault:

• were female (88% or 1,435 victims)
• knew the offender (83% or 1,341 victims)

Around a quarter of victims of sexual assault:

• were aged between 15 and 19 years at the date of incident (24% or 395 victims)
• reported the incident to police a year or more after it occurred (25% or 405 victims)

The number of victims of robbery decreased by 24% (146 victims) from 2019, to 457 victims in 2020.

More than half of robberies:

• occurred at a community location (58% or 265 victims)
• involved the use of a weapon (54% or 248 victims), including a knife (129 victims)

The majority (94% or 431 victims) were persons (6% were organisations), of whom:

• three-quarters were male (75% or 321 victims)
• around a quarter were aged between 25 and 34 years at the date of report (24% or 104 victims)

Victims of unlawful entry with intent reached their lowest level in the twenty-eight year time series (10,334 victims) in 2020, after a 29% decrease (4,285 victims) from 2019. This coincided with the restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Most unlawful entry with intent offences:

• occurred at a residential location (73% or 7,575 victims)
• involved the taking of property (64% or 6,611 victims)

There were 3,528 victims of motor vehicle theft in South Australia in 2020, a decrease of 16% (647 victims) from the previous year.

Nearly half (47%) of motor vehicle thefts occurred at a residential location (1,659 victims).

There were 39,201 victims of other theft recorded in South Australia in 2020, a decrease of 21% (10,395 victims) from the previous year.

More than two in five (44%) other thefts occurred at a retail location (17,083 victims).

There were 59 victims of homicide and related offences in Western Australia in 2020, an increase of 15 victims from 2019.

The largest increase was for victims of attempted murder, which increased from 12 to 27 victims in 2020.

Most homicide and related offences:

• occurred at a residential location (59% or 35 victims)
• involved the use of a weapon (63% or 37 victims)

For victims of homicide and related offences:

• more than half (54%) were male (32 victims)
• the most common age group at the date of report was between 35 and 54 years (21 victims)
• almost half of the incidents (48%) were family and domestic violence (FDV) related (28 victims)

The number of victims of assault recorded in Western Australia increased by 10% (3,094 victims) from 2019 to 34,191 victims in 2020. This increased the victimisation rate from 1,186 in 2019 to 1,284 victims per 100,000 persons, the highest recorded number in the twenty-six year time series.

Most assaults:

• occurred at a residential location (67% or 22,780 victims)
• did not involve the use of a weapon (80% or 27,313 victims)

For victims of assault:

• the majority (60%) were female (20,558 victims)
• over a quarter (28%) were aged between 25 and 34 years at date of report (9,688 victims)
• almost two-thirds (65%) of the incidents were FDV-related (22,257 victims)

The number of victims of sexual assault increased by 10% (279 victims) from 2019 to 3,048 victims in 2020, the highest number in the twenty-eight year time series. The victimisation rate increased from 106 in 2019 to 114 victims per 100,000 persons in 2020.

Most sexual assaults:

• occurred at a residential location (75% or 2,295 victims)
• did not involve use of a weapon (75% or 2,284 victims)

For victims of sexual assault:

• most were female (86% or 2,615 victims)
• more than a fifth (21%) reported an incident to police a year or more after its occurrence (639 victims)
• more than a quarter (27%) of incidents were FDV-related (821 victims)

The most common age group at the date of incident was:

• under 10 years for male victims (41% or 162 victims)
• between 15 and 19 years for female victims (26% or 678 victims)

There were 1,126 victims of robbery in 2020, a decrease of 16% (209 victims) from 2019.

For victims of robbery:

• most were person victims (90% or 1,009 victims) and 10% were organisations (117 victims)
• almost three-quarters (71%) of the person victims were male (716 victims)
• less than a third (32%) of the incidents occurred on a street or footpath (361 victims)
• almost half (49%) of the incidents involved a weapon (552 victims)

The number of victims of unlawful entry with intent decreased by 36% (11,489 victims) from 2019 to 20,365 victims in 2020. This was the lowest recorded number in the twenty-eight year time series coinciding with the restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Most victims of unlawful entry with intent reported that:

• property was taken during the incident (65% or 13,132 victims)
• the incident occurred at a residential location (76% or 15,411 victims)

There was a decrease in thefts recorded in Western Australia from the previous year with:

• motor vehicle theft declining by 30% (2,326 victims) from 7,664 victims in 2019 to 5,338 victims in 2020, the lowest in the time series
• other theft declining by 34% (30,095 victims) from 89,353 victims in 2019 to 59,258 victims in 2020

The most common theft locations were:

• an outbuilding or residential land (including a driveway, carport, or garage) for motor vehicle thefts (64% or 3,393 victims)
• retail for other thefts (37% or 22,157 victims)

In 2020, there were 3,414 victims of assault recorded in Tasmania. The victimisation rate in 2020 remained stable from 2019 at 631 victims per 100,000 persons.

In 2020, most assaults:

• occurred at a residential location (57% or 1,946 victims)
• did not involve the use of a weapon (80% or 2,725 victims)

Most assault victims:

• knew the offender (73% or 2,496 victims)
• were female (53% or 1,819 victims)

Around half of all assaults were family and domestic violence (FDV) related (47% or 1,600 victims).

There were 267 victims of sexual assault recorded in Tasmania in 2020, an increase of 27% (56 victims) from the previous year.

The victimisation rate increased from 40 to 49 victims per 100,000 persons.

Between 2019 and 2020, victims who reported an incident of sexual assault to police:

• within a year, increased from 116 to 164 victims (up 41%)
• one year and over, increased from 93 to 104 victims (up 12%)

In 2020, most sexual assaults:

• occurred at a residential location (71% or 190 victims)
• did not involve the use of a weapon (97% or 258 victims)

Most victims of sexual assault:

• knew the offender (86% or 229 victims)
• were female (83% or 221 victims)

Around two in five victims of sexual assault:

• were FDV-related (41% or 110 victims)
• were under 15 years of age at the date of incident (41% or 110 victims)
• reported the incident to police a year or more after it occurred (39% or 104 victims)

There were 97 victims of robbery recorded in Tasmania in 2020, a decrease of 20% (24 victims) from the previous year. 

For victims of robbery:

• most were person victims (59% or 57 victims), 41% were organisations (40 victims)
• almost half involved the use of a weapon (49% or 47 victims)
• 40% occurred at a community location (39 victims)
• around a third occurred at a retail location (34% or 33 victims)

Of the 57 person victims of robbery recorded in 2020, most were male (72% or 41 victims).

In 2020, there were 2,713 victims of unlawful entry with intent recorded in Tasmania, a decrease of 20% (659 victims) from 2019. 

Most victims of unlawful entry with intent reported that:

• property was taken during the offence (79% or 2,138 victims)
• the offence occurred at a residential location (60% or 1,635 victims)

There were 952 victims of motor vehicle theft recorded in Tasmania in 2020, a decrease of 26% (335 victims) from the previous year. This was the lowest number of victims recorded for this offence type across the available time series which coincided with the restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Half of all stolen motor vehicles were taken from a residential location (50% or 480 victims).

In Tasmania, there were 6,062 victims of other theft in 2020, a decrease of 25% (1,967 victims) from 2019 to reach the lowest level recorded since 2012.

More than two out of five (44% or 2,654 victims) other theft offences occurred at a retail location.

There were 12 victims of homicide and related offences in the Northern Territory.

For victims of homicide and related offences:

• 9 were male
• 7 incidents involved a knife

The number of victims of assault recorded in the Northern Territory increased by 22% (1,470 victims) from 2019 to 8,200 victims in 2020. This was the highest number recorded for this offence in the Northern Territory across the twenty-six year time series. The victimisation rate increased from 2,737 victims in 2019 to 3,331 victims per 100,000 persons in 2020.

Most victims of assault:

• were female (65% or 5,294 victims)
• knew the offender (76% or 6,247 victims)

For victims of assault:

• almost two-thirds (63%) of incidents were family and domestic violence (FDV) related (5,131 victims)
• almost a third (30%) were aged between 25 and 34 years at the date of report (2,476 victims)
• around half (49%) of the incidents occurred at a community location (4,025 victims) and another third (32%) at a residential location (2,635 victims)

In the Northern Territory, a weapon was used in over two in five assaults (42% or 3,462 victims), the highest proportion of any state or territory where assault data was available.

The number of sexual assault victims recorded in the Northern Territory increased by 5% (16 victims) from 2019 to 370 victims in 2020.

Most victims of sexual assault:

• were female (90% or 331 victims)
• knew the offender (55% or 204 victims)
• reported the incident to police within a year of its occurrence (91% or 338 victims)

For victims of sexual assault:

• more than two in five (42%) occurred at a community location (154 victims)
• most (90%) did not involve the use of a weapon (333 victims)
• almost a quarter (24%) were aged under 15 years at the date of incident (90 victims)
• less than a third (30%) were FDV-related (111 victims)

The number of victims of robbery increased from 147 victims in 2019 to 170 victims in 2020, the highest recorded number in the twenty-eight year time series.

For the 151 person victims of robbery:

• most were male (68% or 103 victims)
• over a third (34%) were aged between 25 and 34 years at the date of report (52 victims)

More than half of all robberies:

• occurred at a community location (52% or 89 victims)
• did not involve use of a weapon (52% or 89 victims)

The number of victims of unlawful entry with intent decreased by 19% from the previous year to 3,749 victims in 2020.

For unlawful entry with intent offences, around two in five:

• involved the taking of property (39% or 1,467 victims)
• occurred at a residential location (42% or 1,565 victims)

There were 513 victims of motor vehicle theft recorded in the Northern Territory in 2020, a decrease of 27% (187 victims) from 2019.

More than a third of motor vehicles were stolen from:

• a community location (38% or 196 victims)
• a residential location (34% or 176 victims)

There were 5,289 victims of other theft in Northern Territory in 2020, a decrease of 16% (996 victims) from the previous year.

Over a third (34%) of other theft offences occurred at a community location (1,779 victims).

There were four victims of homicide and related offences in the Australian Capital Territory in 2020.

The number of victims of assault decreased from the previous year, down 8% (184 victims) to 2,215 victims in 2020. This victimisation rate also declined, from 562 victims to 514 victims per 100,000 persons.

For victims of assault:

• over half (52%) were male (1,159 victims)
• just under a quarter (24%) were aged between 25 and 34 years at the date of report (535 victims)
• more than two-fifths (43%) of the incidents were family and domestic violence (FDV) related (942 victims)
• a higher proportion of females (83%) knew the offender than males (56%)
• around half (51%) of the incidents occurred at a residential location (1,130 victims)

The number of victims of sexual assault in the Australian Capital Territory decreased by 12% (38 victims) from 2019 to 289 in 2020. Over the same time period, the victimisation rate declined from 77 to 67 victims per 100,000 persons.

Most sexual assaults in 2020:

• occurred at a residential location (57% or 165 victims)
• did not involve a weapon (97% or 281 victims)

For victims of sexual assault:

• the majority were female (87% or 250 victims)
• most knew the offender (71% or 206 victims)
• over a quarter (27%) of the incidents were FDV-related (77 victims)

Around one in six (16%) reported the incident to police a year or more after it occurred (46 victims).

There were 152 victims of robbery in the Australian Capital Territory in 2020, a decline of 36% (84 victims) from the previous year.

For victims of robbery:

• the majority (69%) of person victims were male (95 victims)
• just under half (47%) of the incidents occurred on a street/footpath (71 victims)
• most (60%) incidents did not involve a weapon (91 victims)

The number of victims of unlawful entry with intent declined by 25% (641 victims) from 2019 to 1,975 victims in 2020. Less than two-thirds (63%) occurred at a residential location (1,252 victims).

There were 1,122 victims of motor vehicle theft in the Australian Capital Territory in 2020, remaining relatively stable from 2019 (1,145 victims). Almost half (47%) were stolen from a community location (523 victims).

There were 6,992 victims of other theft in 2020, a decline of 20% (1,715 victims) from the previous year. This was the lowest recorded number of other theft victims in the twenty-six year time series.

Over a third (36%) of other theft offences occurred in a community location (2,524 victims), the highest proportion of all jurisdictions.

The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of assault recorded in 2020 were:

• 5,880 victims in the Northern Territory
• 4,279 victims in New South Wales
• 2,620 victims in South Australia

Most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of assault:

• were female (63–75%)
• knew the offender (87–91%)
• were family and domestic violence (FDV) related incidents (68–78%)

Over a quarter of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims were aged between 25 and 34 years at the date of report (25–33%).

The most common location for assault was:

• residential for New South Wales (69%) and South Australia (67%)
• community for the Northern Territory (47%)

The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of sexual assault recorded in 2020 were:

• 873 victims in New South Wales
• 578 victims in Queensland
• 168 victims in the Northern Territory
• 110 victims in South Australia

Most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of sexual assault:

• were female (75–88%)
• reported the incident to police within a year, ranging from 68% in New South Wales to 92% in the Northern Territory

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of sexual assault:

• around two-fifths were FDV-related incidents (38–43%)
• the incidents most commonly occurred at a residential location, ranging from 43% in the Northern Territory to 74% in Queensland

There were 145 victims of family and domestic violence (FDV) related homicide recorded in 2020, an increase of 12% (15 victims) from the previous year.

Nationally, almost two in five homicide and related offences (37% or 145 victims) recorded by state and territory police were FDV-related. Murder accounted for 57% (82 victims) of FDV-related homicide in 2020.

For victims of FDV-related homicide:

• most were female (59% or 86 victims)
• the most common age at report was 45 years and over (39% or 56 victims)

Most FDV-related homicides:

• occurred at a residential location (86% or 124 victims)
• involved the use of a weapon (57% or 82 victims), most commonly a knife (42 victims)

At least two in five assaults recorded by selected state and territory police were FDV-related, ranging from 43% in the Australian Capital Territory to 65% in Western Australia.

FDV-related assaults increased in 2020 compared with 2019 in:

• the Northern Territory (up 27% to 5,131 victims)
• Western Australia (up 15% to 22,257 victims)
• South Australia (up 9% to 8,686 victims)
• New South Wales (up 2%, to 31,411 victims)
• Tasmania (up 1% to 1,600 victims)

The Australian Capital Territory recorded the only decrease in these offences in 2020 (down 4% to 942 victims).

Across all of the selected states and territories, most victims of FDV-related assault:

• were female (65–79%)
• were assaulted by an intimate partner (52–86%)
• were aged between 25 and 44 years at the date of report (45–54%)

Most FDV-related assaults:

• occurred at a residential location (43–88%)
• did not involve the use of a weapon (58–97%)

There were 10,162 victims of FDV-related sexual assault in 2020, an increase of 13% (1,177 victims) from the previous year. The victimisation rate increased from 35 to 40 victims per 100,000 persons, over the same period.

Around two in five (37%) of all sexual assaults recorded nationally in 2020 were FDV-related.

Most FDV-related sexual assaults:

• occurred at a residential location (84% or 8,522 victims)
• did not involve the use of a weapon (94% or 9,545 victims)

Most victims of FDV-related sexual assault:

• were female (86% or 8,723 victims)
• were aged under 19 years at the date of incident (71% or 7,255 victims)

More than two in five victims of FDV-related sexual assault reported the incident to police a year or more after it occurred (44% or 4,461 victims).

The offender was most commonly:

• an ‘other family member’ across most states and territories, ranging from 50% in Victoria and the Northern Territory to 72% in Queensland. An ‘other family member’ can include parents, children, siblings, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, cousins and grandparents
• an intimate partner in South Australia (49% or 289 victims)

There were 113 victims of FDV-related kidnapping/abduction in Australia in 2020, a decrease of 24% (35 victims) on the previous year. The largest decrease occurred in New South Wales down from 72 to 37 victims.

Over a quarter (28%) of all kidnapping/abductions recorded in 2020 were FDV-related.

Most victims of FDV-related kidnapping/abduction:

• were female (83% or 94 victims)
• were aged under 34 years at the date of report (79% or 89 victims)

Most FDV-related kidnapping/abduction offences:

• occurred at a residential location (64% or 72 victims)
• did not involve the use of a weapon (79% or 89 victims)

This release previously used catalogue number 4510.0