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Copper thefts have skyrocketed by 175 per cent despite a government crackdown on the crime, with thieves ripping up backyards, crippling railway lines, causing power blackouts and forcing schools to close.
Fuelled by record scrap prices, the surge in copper crime is so strong that in the three years from 2023 to 2025, there were 5871 copper thefts reported in Victoria – almost the same figure that occurred over the preceding seven years. Thieves now hit more than 50 sites a week.
Although Melbourne’s train network is constantly hit, homes have become a far more common target for copper-seeking criminals. In the past three years, 1939 homes, front and backyards, garages and sheds have been robbed, as the rate of domestic copper thefts doubled.
Thieves are so brazen that copper was last year stolen from a Wyndham police station. A court and a prison have also been struck, while youth justice centres, airfields and banks are among other secure sites to have been repeatedly targeted.
New data, prepared by the state’s Crime Statistics Agency for The Age, shows that nowhere is safe. Churches and other religious centres were hit almost 100 times by copper thieves since 2016, while gaming venues have been struck four times and a brothel was also stripped.
Laws introduced by the Victorian government in 2018 to ban “cash for scrap” and fight organised crime networks selling stolen copper and other metals have failed to dent the illegal trade. The new data reveals copper thefts have soared by 175 per cent since the laws were introduced.
Those laws require scrap metal yards and secondhand dealers to keep detailed records of all transactions involving scrap metal. However, a source working in Melbourne’s recycling industry, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said crime gangs easily sidestep the law by using registered agents to buy and resell their stolen copper.
Melbourne’s western growth corridor has become a magnet for copper thieves, with the council areas of Wyndham, Brimbank and Melton accounting for more than one-third of almost 12,000 copper crimes over the past decade.
In the City of Wyndham – which was hit more than 700 times in the past three years alone – homes under construction are the most common target, while those already occupied are close behind.
The council said it was working with police on a range of deterrence and enforcement measures after its sports grounds and community assets were affected by copper theft, as water meters and copper cabling were the most common targets.
A council spokesperson said the crimes included opportunistic thefts as well as professional cable stripping requiring planning, technical knowledge and professional skills and equipment.
“The impact of water meter theft can be immediate and significant. It disrupts council services and community access to facilities such as kindergartens, maternal and child health centres, libraries, community centres and sporting facilities,” the spokesperson said.
“The more damaging category is copper cabling, particularly where underground power infrastructure is targeted. These incidents can result in extensive damage to council infrastructure and, in some cases, prolonged disruption to community use of facilities.
“A single incident can affect sporting clubs, community groups, scheduled fixtures, events and competitions. The cost of repair and reinstatement again is significant and far outweighs the scrap value obtained from the stolen material.”
Schools have also become a target, with thieves taking everything from statues to wiring during more than 250 raids on schools and school grounds over the past decade, which often force their temporary closure. Another 47 education sites have also been hit.
Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools infrastructure general manager Fergus Chisholm labelled copper theft an “insidious crime” which has already affected four of its schools this year, and left a $200,000 damage bill.
“It’s pretty low to target schools,” Chisholm said. “It has a significant impact on schools. Most of our new buildings, if we don’t have power on they can’t operate, so students have to learn remotely.”
A week before Easter, thieves cut through a major copper cable at Sunbury’s Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School and pulled out the wiring from the pits. The wiring was threaded throughout the school’s buildings. Left without power for five days, principal Krystine Hocking had no choice but to revert to online learning.
“A significant amount of copper cabling was taken … we lost power to five of our six buildings,” Hocking said.
“It’s an inconvenience not only for the children and their learning, but also for families because they had to organise care.”
Carlo Acutis Primary School in Wollert in the city’s north shut for week to undergo repairs from a theft in March, which meant more than 200 students had to learn remotely. Other targeted schools include Caroline Chisholm College in Braybrook and Avila College in Mount Waverley, where a bronze statue of education pioneer Nano Nagle – 80 per cent copper – was stolen.
“We are shocked that someone would take away such a powerful and important symbol of female leadership at a girls’ school,” Avila College principal Michelle Cotter said.
In November, emergency service lines were affected and phones were cut for 14,000 Optus customers in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula when vandals tried to steal copper.
In the past year alone, copper thefts have caused more than 400 cancellations on Metro’s train network and significantly contributed to a $10 million annual vandalism repair bill.
“Cable theft on our rail network is not only disruptive, it’s dangerous – tampering with cables can cost you your life,” a Metro spokesperson said. “Our team works hard to respond with dedicated security patrols, targeted surveillance and close co-operation with Victoria Police to protect the network and catch offenders.”
Hundreds of thousands of dollars of signal wiring was stolen from the Melbourne-Adelaide train line late last year, including a single theft of eight kilometres of copper cabling near Nhill and a five-kilometre length of wiring taken from tracks near Dimboola.
Hindmarsh Shire had not recorded a single copper theft on its train lines between 2016 and 2024, but was targeted a dozen times last year, according to the Crime Statistics Agency data.
Despite the multimillion damages and delays to its network, the Australian Rail Track Corporation refused to discuss the constant thefts, and said they were a matter for police.
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Caroline Schelle is an education reporter, and joined The Age in 2022. She previously covered courts at AAP.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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