Stealing from a retail store was the only crime category to face a lift in reported cases late last year, according to the latest Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR).
The surge was most notable in the Greater Sydney area, where in the two years to September 2025, retail theft surged by 12.1 per cent. This was up 7.7 per cent across New South Wales overall, and stable within regional NSW.
This news follows ongoing demands from retailers, calling for governments across Australia to tackle retail crime.
The Australian Retail Council (ARC) listed retail as a key issue in its submission to the Federal Government’s upcoming Budget 2026. The council is calling for strengthened coordinated action to disrupt organised retail crime as well as the illicit tobacco trade, both of which drive up prices, insurance costs and place retail workers and customers at risk.
“Retailers, like households, are under pressure from rising costs,” Rodwell said. “They’re also dealing with escalating regulatory complexity and increasing safety risks. To add to this, they’re navigating rapid structural change, shifting consumer trends, seismic technological change, heightened geopolitical risk and a deteriorating fiscal and monetary policy environment.
“These challenges underline the need for ambitious economic reform that delivers for retailers and households. Sustainable cost of living relief depends on policy reform that reduces unnecessary cost and complexity across the economy.”
Similar numbers have been recorded in Melbourne, with the Crime Statistics Agency for Victoria showing recorded crimes within retail settings have risen from 59,625 in 2023 to 81,389 in 2025.
BOCSAR did point out the surge in retail store theft, but added that crime overall declined across much of Regional NSW over the past two years, with improvements recorded in the majority of major offence categories.
In the two years to September 2025, NSW recorded significant declines in seven of the 13 major crime categories. These state-wide improvements are being driven by widespread and substantial falls across Regional NSW.
Eight major offence categories have fallen in Regional NSW over the past two years, with none showing a significant increase.
The offences that have declined in Regional NSW include non-domestic assault, robbery, break and enter, motor vehicle theft, malicious damage to property and stealing offences.
“One of the most encouraging aspects of the recent decline in regional crime is the reduction in youth offending,” BOCSAR executive firector Jackie Fitzgerald said. “Regional NSW recorded a 16 per cent decline in youth charges over the past two years. This represents a welcome shift after several years of concern around youth crime, particularly in regional areas.”
Fitzgerald added that falls are especially welcome in the regions, noting that rural NSW typically experiences higher rates of crime, making these recent declines particularly important for community safety. "The latest figures suggest that some communities that have faced greater crime pressures are now seeing meaningful improvements.”
The areas with the largest declines were Far West and Orana, the Central West, and the Mid-North West.