AUSTRALIA’S MOST PROTECTED HOMES REVEALED

Home Insurance quote data from Budget Direct has shown which Australian states and suburbs are the most secure based on how many homes were reportedly fitted with a security alarm.

Collective data from the past five years reveals that Western Australia leads the way from a security standpoint with 63.17 per cent of homeowners who received a Budget Direct Home Insurance quote identifying their home as being equipped with an alarm.

The western state was well ahead of the east with just 53.06 per cent of New South Wales homes and 51.76 per cent of homeowners in Victoria stating they had alarms fitted at home.

The least protected state was Tasmania with 30.59 per cent of homeowners who obtained a Home Insurance quote from Budget Direct having security systems in place. Queensland was not much better, with 33.80 per cent of homeowners noting their houses had security alarms fitted.

Budget Direct’s Chief Growth Officer, Jonathan Kerr, said collectively the data showed that at the end of the 2022/23 financial year, 48.67 per cent of Australian homeowners said they had an alarm system.

“It’s no surprise that people are wanting to feel more secure. As we’ve been seeing on the news, home invasions and break-ins are increasing at an alarming rate,” Mr Kerr noted.

According to statistics from the ABS, in 65 per cent of recent break-ins, most of the items targeted by thieves included personal items like handbags, jewellery and clothing.

“Whilst items like these can be covered by Contents Insurance, they may have personal meaning, making them difficult to replace,” Mr Kerr added.

Whilst alarm installations declined during COVID due to lower crime rates and more people remaining in their homes day and night, the industry has grown in the past two years as predicted.

Budget Direct’s most recent Home Insurance quote data also identified which suburbs in each state or territory had the highest percentage of self-reported residential alarm systems surveillance.

Tasmania’s second largest city Launceston had the most monitored homes in the country, with 5.18 per cent of those who obtained a Home Insurance quote in the suburb noting their home was fitted with alarms^[1].

It’s little wonder this is the case given that property-related offences in Australia’s southernmost state increased 5.7 per cent between 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, according to the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management's most recent Crime Statistics Supplement^[2].

Dunlop was the most secure suburb in the Australian Capital Territory with 4.06 per cent of homeowners who obtained a Home Insurance quote in the ACT boasting an alarm set-up.

Across the rest of the country, Armadale led the way for Western Australia (2.07%); Mawson Lakes for South Australia (1.74%); Hoppers Crossing for Victoria (1.48%); NSW’s Kellyville (1.34%) and Queensland’s Goodna region (0.57%). 

For the breakdown of homes with alarm systems installed per state see here.