🚔 The 10 Safest LGAs in Victoria

Ranking the 10 Victorian Local Government Areas with the lowest weighted crime rate for the year ending September 2025, based on Crime Statistics Agency recorded incidents per 100,000 residents.

Published 19 May 2026 · Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, year ending September 2025

This ranking covers all 76 Victorian LGAs with at least 5,000 residents and reliable CSA rate data for the year ending September 2025. The safety score sums 14 personal-safety offence groups (rates per 100,000 residents) weighted by severity — full weights are at the bottom of the page.

Lower scores rank as safer. Victoria's safest LGAs tend to be outer-metropolitan growth councils with young families, low pedestrian flow in their commercial centres, and very low rates of stranger violence.

Buloke 6,178 residents

Safety score 3773 (weighted sum of offence rates per 100k — lower is safer)

Break & enter (dwelling)

152.9 /100k

Up 15.5%

Motor vehicle theft

152.9 /100k

Up 823.6%

Non-FV assault

152.9 /100k

Stable

Robbery (unarmed)

0 /100k

—

Steal from vehicle

543.8 /100k

Up 556.8%

Biggest score drivers: Non-FV assault 153/100k Residential burglary 153/100k Steal from motor vehicle 544/100k

Nillumbik 62,895 residents

Safety score 4637 (weighted sum of offence rates per 100k — lower is safer)

Break & enter (dwelling)

256.6 /100k

Up 184.8%

Motor vehicle theft

109.5 /100k

Up 147.4%

Non-FV assault

122 /100k

Stable

Robbery (unarmed)

14.1 /100k

—

Steal from vehicle

416.2 /100k

Up 148.4%

Biggest score drivers: Residential burglary 257/100k Sexual offences 63/100k Non-FV assault 122/100k

Golden Plains 24,985 residents

Safety score 4837 (weighted sum of offence rates per 100k — lower is safer)

Break & enter (dwelling)

189.8 /100k

Stable

Motor vehicle theft

130.2 /100k

Stable

Non-FV assault

63.3 /100k

Up 16.6%

Robbery (unarmed)

0 /100k

—

Steal from vehicle

174.9 /100k

Up 29.0%

Biggest score drivers: Sexual offences 89/100k Residential burglary 190/100k Homicide 7/100k

Surf Coast 37,694 residents

Safety score 4908 (weighted sum of offence rates per 100k — lower is safer)

Break & enter (dwelling)

135.6 /100k

Stable

Motor vehicle theft

98.6 /100k

Up 84.6%

Non-FV assault

128.2 /100k

Up 14.5%

Robbery (unarmed)

2.5 /100k

—

Steal from vehicle

347.7 /100k

Up 15.8%

Biggest score drivers: Sexual offences 94/100k Non-FV assault 128/100k Residential burglary 136/100k

Manningham 124,700 residents

Safety score 5102 (weighted sum of offence rates per 100k — lower is safer)

Break & enter (dwelling)

361.6 /100k

Down 11.9%

Motor vehicle theft

141.6 /100k

Up 108.5%

Non-FV assault

100.2 /100k

Stable

Robbery (unarmed)

1.5 /100k

Up 95.2%

Steal from vehicle

533.4 /100k

Up 44.9%

Biggest score drivers: Residential burglary 362/100k Sexual offences 63/100k Steal from motor vehicle 533/100k

Macedon Ranges 51,458 residents

Safety score 5369 (weighted sum of offence rates per 100k — lower is safer)

Break & enter (dwelling)

133.8 /100k

Down 30.6%

Motor vehicle theft

166.8 /100k

Up 110.1%

Non-FV assault

122.8 /100k

Up 10.1%

Robbery (unarmed)

0 /100k

—

Steal from vehicle

285.9 /100k

Stable

Biggest score drivers: Sexual offences 92/100k FV assault 227/100k Non-FV assault 123/100k

Towong 6,223 residents

Safety score 5710 (weighted sum of offence rates per 100k — lower is safer)

Break & enter (dwelling)

128 /100k

Down 11.2%

Motor vehicle theft

128 /100k

Up 59.8%

Non-FV assault

144 /100k

Down 43.8%

Robbery (unarmed)

0 /100k

—

Steal from vehicle

191.9 /100k

Stable

Biggest score drivers: Sexual offences 144/100k Non-FV assault 144/100k FV assault 224/100k

Indigo 17,368 residents

Safety score 6006 (weighted sum of offence rates per 100k — lower is safer)

Break & enter (dwelling)

134.1 /100k

Stable

Motor vehicle theft

100.6 /100k

Down 15.4%

Non-FV assault

128.5 /100k

Stable

Robbery (unarmed)

0 /100k

—

Steal from vehicle

307.3 /100k

Stable

Biggest score drivers: Sexual offences 123/100k Homicide 11/100k Non-FV assault 129/100k

Moyne 17,374 residents

Safety score 6093 (weighted sum of offence rates per 100k — lower is safer)

Break & enter (dwelling)

191.1 /100k

Up 12.2%

Motor vehicle theft

84.3 /100k

Up 35.0%

Non-FV assault

118 /100k

Stable

Robbery (unarmed)

0 /100k

—

Steal from vehicle

264.2 /100k

Up 45.4%

Biggest score drivers: Sexual offences 107/100k Homicide 11/100k FV assault 287/100k

#10

Mansfield 10,178 residents

Safety score 6162 (weighted sum of offence rates per 100k — lower is safer)

Break & enter (dwelling)

118.5 /100k

Down 21.9%

Motor vehicle theft

72.9 /100k

Stable

Non-FV assault

209.7 /100k

Up 16.4%

Robbery (unarmed)

0 /100k

—

Steal from vehicle

182.3 /100k

Up 28.2%

Biggest score drivers: Homicide 18/100k Sexual offences 91/100k Non-FV assault 210/100k

📊 How the safety score works

For each Victorian Local Government Area we take the CSA's recorded incident rates (per 100,000 residents) for 14 ANZSOC offence groups that materially affect personal safety, multiply each by a severity weight, and sum the result. Lower scores rank as safer. The model is the same one used for the NSW ranking, mapped from BOCSAR's offence categories to Victoria's ANZSOC subgroups.

Two- and ten-year trends are computed as the percent change between the year-ending September 2025 rate and the same metric in 2023 and 2016 respectively, bucketed into Stable (<10% change), Up, or Down.

LGAs with fewer than 5,000 residents (e.g. Queenscliffe) are excluded because small populations make rates statistically noisy.

This is an ordinal ranking, not a victimisation estimate. It reflects recorded police incidents, which understate some offences (sexual assault, family violence) and overstate others where reporting culture or police presence varies between LGAs. Inner-city councils with large daytime/visitor populations (Melbourne, Yarra, Port Phillip) appear less safe than they feel to residents because rates are computed on resident population only.

Show offence weights

Offence group	ANZSOC subgroups	Weight
Homicide	A10 Homicide and related offences	100
Sexual offences	A30 Sexual offences	15
Aggravated robbery	A51 Aggravated robbery	12
Non-aggravated robbery	A52 Non-Aggravated robbery	8
Non-FV assault	A212 Non-FV Serious assault, A232 Non-FV Common assault	5
Residential burglary	B311 Residential aggravated burglary, B321 Residential non-aggravated burglary	4
FV assault	A211 FV Serious assault, A231 FV Common assault	3
Assault police	A22 Assault police, emergency services or other authorised officer	3
Motor vehicle theft	B41 Motor vehicle theft	3
Stalking, harassment, threats	A711 FV Stalking, A712 Non-FV Stalking, A721 FV Harassment and private nuisance, A722 Non-FV Harassment and private nuisance, A731 FV Threatening behaviour, A732 Non-FV Threatening behaviour	2
Arson / fire	B11 Cause damage by fire, B12 Cause a bushfire, B19 Other fire related offences	2
Non-residential burglary	B312 Non-residential aggravated burglary, B322 Non-residential non-aggravated burglary	1
Steal from motor vehicle	B42 Steal from a motor vehicle	1
Property damage	B21 Criminal damage, B22 Graffiti, B29 Other property damage offences	1

Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria · Data Tables LGA Criminal Incidents, year ending September 2025