There isn't one single "most lawless" place in Australia, as different areas face unique challenges, but recent reports highlight significant crime issues in Victoria (based on some ABS data interpretations) and specific regional towns like Halls Creek in WA, known for vehicle theft and property damage, while Alice Springs in NT faces ongoing struggles with high rates of lower-level crime and social issues affecting Aboriginal communities.
1. Which city in Australia has the highest crime rate? Rockhampton has the highest crime rate in Australia, with 132 per 1000 people. Some of the sources have also pointed to Alice Springs as the city with the highest crime rate.
Mungallala Methodist Church was built in 1964. It has now closed. In 2016, the Australian Taxation Office listed Mungallala as having the lowest mean taxable income by postcode, making it the poorest town in Australia, which led the ABC to do a documentary on the town for their online "storyhunters" program.
According to the latest National Homicide Monitoring Program report (July 2024 – June 2025), Australia saw a total of 277 homicides. Queensland had the highest number, with 111 victims, and Victoria wasn't far behind with 88 victims.
Canberra is officially Australia's #1 safest city, with a crime index rating of 26 out of 100. That places it as the 49th safest city in the world. This ranking comes from Compare the Market Australia, which analysed 6 years of public data from Numbeo's crime index.
Top 10 Safest Cities In Australia
Lord Howe Island is the only destination in Australia without snakes, poisonous spiders, dangerous sharks, crocodiles or stingers. You can kick your toe, or get stung by a bee, but that's about as risky as it gets.
The worst performing states are Tasmania, with incomes 26% below the national income and wealth average, as well as South Australia which is 19% below the average household income and 20% below the national net wealth.
Sussan Ley recently declared Melbourne the 'crime capital of Australia'. But a closer analysis of the data shows a much more nuanced picture.
What Are the Top 10 Most Dangerous States in 2023?
Firstly, the unhappiest city in Australia is Darwin. About 23. 4% of the population here is experiencing anxiety.
Definition and Purpose of Blacklisting
Lender blacklists are secret lists of suburbs that banks see as risky. When a suburb is on this list, it's harder to get a loan there. Banks use these lists to lower their risk of losing money on loans. Blacklists help banks decide where to lend.
While several towns vie for the title, Picton (NSW) and Kapunda (SA) are frequently cited as Australia's spookiest, with Picton known for its haunted Mushroom Tunnel and Kapunda for its notorious North Kapunda Hotel and mining history, both featuring numerous ghost stories and paranormal claims. Other contenders include Beechworth (VIC) for its asylum and gaol, and eerie spots like Tasmania's Queenstown, noted for its unsettling atmosphere.
Homicide rate: Australia's homicide rate hovers around 0.8 per 100,000 people, compared to the U.S. rate of approximately 6 per 100,000. Property crime: Both countries experience property crime, but Australia's rates are generally lower, and violent property crimes (like armed burglary) are less common.
What are the poorest suburbs in Australia? According to the ATO's latest figures, the lowest-earning suburbs in Australia are Callaghan and Newcastle University, which are located in the city of Newcastle in New South Wales. See the full list of postcodes below.
World's most dangerous cities, by crime rate 2025
In 2025, Pietermaritzburg in South Africa ranked as the world's most dangerous city with a crime rate of 82 per 100,000 inhabitants. Five of the 10 cities with the highest crime rates worldwide are found in South Africa.
Buying or selling a home?
Serious crime in Australia
While there are a host of petty crimes in Australia, such as shoplifting or traffic offences, one of the most prevalent serious crimes in Australia is sexual assault, with the largest proportion of victims being female.
Crime levels
Australia reported 46.01 crimes per 100,000 citizens. Australia is ranked 69th out of 164 countries when it comes to crime in general while Canada did better with only 39.03 crimes per 100,000 and ranking 80th.
Tennant Creek is consistently ranked as one of the most disadvantaged and dangerous towns in Australia. In 2017, the estimated homicide rate in Tennant Creek per 100,000 people was 59.6, which was over 11 times as high as the same statistic for the United States as a whole.
Poverty rates were highest in non-urban areas in the smallest States and Territories, including 52,000 people outside the capital in Tasmania, 57,000 people outside the capital in South Australia, and 28,000 people in the Northern Territory.
Victoria currently has the highest total state debt in Australia in nominal terms, with projections showing it surpassing $194 billion, making it the most indebted state by absolute value and per capita, though the Northern Territory has the highest debt per person when population size is considered. Debt levels in Victoria are driven by significant infrastructure spending and past pandemic-related costs, leading to concerns about its financial position.
No, huntsman spiders do not chase people to attack; they are fast, but when they run towards you, they're usually trying to escape to a hiding spot, as they are shy, not aggressive, and their venom isn't dangerous to humans, though their speed can be startling. They hunt insects like cockroaches and are beneficial, but their quick, erratic movements often cause alarm.
Snakes are often attracted to yards and houses, when food and shelter are unknowingly provided by the human inhabitants. Brown snakes and taipans eat rodents and are attracted to garden or farm sheds to hunt rats and mice. Pythons regularly enter chicken pens and aviaries to prey on the occupants.
Some steps you can take: Make sure doors and window screens are tight-fitting; seal any gaps if necessary. Get rid of spiders in your basement or garage with Mortein Kill & Protect Crawling Insect Control Bombs designed to eliminate spiders and other household insect pests.