WA ASSAULT VICTIMS HIT 31-YEAR HIGH UNDER LABOR

Almost 50,000 West Australians were victims of assault last year, with new ABS figures revealing both the number and rate of assault victims have climbed to their highest levels in the 31-year history of the data. The ABS Recorded Crime - Victims 2025 data showed there were 49,633 victims of assault recorded in Western Australia - an increase of 2,588 more victims in just 12 months.

WA’s population-adjusted assault rate also climbed to 1,629.3 victims per 100,000 people, continuing an uninterrupted rise every year since 2018.  

Since Labor came to office in 2017, annual recorded assault victim numbers have risen from 30,578 to 49,633 - an increase of more than 19,000 victims, or 62 per cent.

Over the same period, the population-adjusted assault rate has risen almost 38 per cent, from 1,182.6 to 1,629.3 victims per 100,000 people.

WA’s assault rate is now around 78 per cent higher than New South Wales, 56 per cent higher than Queensland and 32 per cent higher than South Australia.  

While WA recorded another 2,588 assault victims in 2025, both New South Wales and Queensland recorded declines.  

Shadow Police Minister Adam Hort said the figures represented a devastating failure of community safety, after almost a decade of a Labor Government.

“Almost 50,000 West Australians were victims of assault in a single year - the highest number ever recorded in more than three decades of ABS data,” he said.

“Since Labor came to office, the number of assault victims has exploded by more than 19,000 a year - an increase of 62 per cent.

“And Labor cannot hide behind population growth. The assault rate itself has surged by almost 38 per cent and has now increased every year since 2018.

“The Cook Labor Government has had almost a decade to make Western Australia safer and invest in better police resourcing. Instead, assault victim numbers are at record levels and WA’s rate remains substantially higher than comparable states.”

The figures also reveal 32,793 WA assault victims experienced family and domestic violence - around two in every three assault victims.

At 66.1 per cent, WA had the highest proportion of FDV-related assault victims of any Australian state for which comparable data is published.  

Women accounted for 62 per cent - 30,638 – of all recorded assault victims in WA.  

Shadow Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Libby Mettam said the family and domestic violence figures were particularly confronting.

“Two out of every three assault victims in Western Australia experienced family and domestic violence. That should set alarm bells ringing across this Government,” she said.

“This statistic shows WA has the unfortunate dishonour of having the highest proportion of FDV victims of any state in the nation. “More than 30,000 women were victims of assault in WA last year.

“These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. Behind every statistic is a person who has been assaulted and a family living with the consequences.”

The ABS also recorded 3,634 victims of sexual assault in WA in 2025, including 1,919 – 53 per cent – who were children when the offence occurred.  

“More than half of WA’s sexual assault victims were children when the offence occurred. That is horrific,” Mr Hort said.

“Victims of violent crime, especially women and children experiencing family and domestic violence, deserve more than announcements and promises.”

Mr Hort said while any reduction in property crime was welcome, the Cook Labor Government cannot claim Western Australia was becoming safer when both the number and rate of assault victims had climbed to record highs.

“After almost a decade in government, Labor must explain why violence against West Australians keeps getting worse.” he said