← The Victoria Ledger
Methodology

Retail Theft — Methodology and Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-05-17

What this measures

Recorded steal from a retail store offences in Victoria. From Vic CSA Recorded Offences Table 01, subgroup B43.

This is shoplifting — does not include retail-targeted aggravated burglary (which appears in the burglary chart) or organised retail crime ring incidents that may classify differently.

Year cadence

Year-ending-December (calendar year).

The cost-of-living surge

Retail theft jumped from 19,693 (2020) to 41,547 (2025) — more than doubling. Industry commentary attributes the surge to cost-of-living pressures plus the retreat of in-store security staffing post-COVID. The chart shows a dramatic level shift from late 2022 onwards.

Caveats

  • Counts reflect reported offences — many retailers don't report low-value shoplifting, so the trend can shift partly with reporting practices, not just behaviour
  • One incident can include multiple offences if charged with multiple counts

Sources

The Victoria Ledger

Victoria's last decade across fiscal, tax, workforce, capital, services, crime, and economy, plotted as continuous time series. Every figure traceable to an official primary source.

Last refreshed 2026-06-11. Data refreshes follow each new release from the underlying agencies.

Independent. No advertising, no sponsorship. Built by Rob Ward in Melbourne, on the unceded land of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people of the Kulin Nation.