The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) recorded 32,835 retail theft incidents in the 12 months to June 2026, averaging nearly 90 a day.
Retail theft in New South Wales has increased by more than 10 per cent over the past two years - the only one of 13 major offence categories in the state to record a significant increase. Australian Retail Council CEO Chris Rodwell said these figures highlight the need for stronger protections against repeat offenders.
"Repeat and organised offenders are responsible for a disproportionate amount of retail crime and harm," Rodwell said.
"Retail theft is not only heading in the wrong direction; it is now the outlier."
He noted that repeat offenders are more likely to turn violent or threatening, raising risks for workers and customers as well as financial costs for businesses.
BOCSAR reported a 16.2 per cent rise in adults taken to court for alleged retail theft and a 26.4 per cent increase for young people. ARC estimates retail crime costs the state $AUD2.8 billion a year.
• Meanwhile, new data from the Victorian Crime Statistics Agency has revealed that 96,008 offences were recorded at retail locations in the 12 months to June 2026.
The total number of retail-based offences is the second-highest total over the past decade. The figures include a record 37,398 steal-from-a-retail-store offences, equivalent to 102 every day.
Of the 263 offences each day at Victorian retail locations, 102 were thefts. The same report includes data on the category of property stolen, and jewellery theft is dramatically down from prior years.
In Victoria, just 6,590 jewellery items were stolen in the year to June 2026. Nearly 10 years ago, 45,601 items were stolen in the year to June 2017. The total value of the 6,590 jewellery items stolen in the year was $29.9 million, with an average value per item of $4,542. The average value has steadily increased since 2017, when it was $1,253.
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