In a property market where buyers fight over school zones and median prices, new national data has revealed a far more confronting divide: the suburbs where your home is statistically safest – and the ones where it faces the greatest combined risk from crime, flood, fire and ageing housing.
And the results may surprise you.
“Safety isn’t only about what happens on the streets,” iSelect’s General Manager of General Insurance, Adrian Bennett said.
“Factors like exposure to natural disasters, the age of local housing, and preparedness for emergencies all play a key role in determining a suburb’s real-world risk.
“Many of the safest-ranked suburbs perform consistently well across all these factors, which helps explain why they’re often seen as more stable places to live.
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“On the flip side, areas with higher property crime or greater exposure to storms, floods, or older buildings may face more frequent or costly insurance claims.”
The home and contents insurance comparison service analysed suburbs nationwide, scoring each out of 100 across four pillars: property crime, disaster exposure, building resilience and emergency preparedness.
The outcome reads like a national property risk scoreboard – and the gap between top and bottom is stark.
Australia’s safest suburbs exposed
New South Wales dominates the rankings, claiming eight of the top 10 safest suburbs in the country.
Canada Bay in Sydney’s inner west was crowned Australia’s safest suburb overall, performing strongly across every pillar – low property crime, limited natural disaster exposure and a smaller proportion of ageing homes.
Georges River and Willoughby followed in second and third, underscoring a broader trend: Sydney’s inner and middle-ring suburbs are emerging not just as lifestyle hotspots, but as some of the country’s most risk-resilient property markets.
Source: iSelect
Source: iSelect
Western Australia was the only state to break NSW’s grip, with Rockingham and Cockburn ranking sixth and seventh overall thanks to low property crime and limited disaster exposure.
When it comes to day-to-day security, Ku-ring-gai in Sydney’s north recorded the lowest average yearly property crime rate nationwide, with just 451 offences per 100,000 people.
Wanneroo and Joondalup in Perth, alongside Hornsby and Camden in Sydney, also posted property crime scores above 98 out of 100.
For homeowners, that means fewer break-ins, fewer claims – and potentially fewer nasty insurance surprises.
Australia’s least safe suburbs revealed
At the other end of the spectrum, Queensland dominates the lowest rankings.
Townsville was named Australia’s least safe suburb overall, recording a total safety index score of just 41.65.
The city’s high property crime rate, combined with moderate disaster exposure and lower building resilience, dragged it to the bottom of the national list.
Cairns topped the country for property crime alone, recording more than 16,000 offences per 100,000 people annually and earning a score of zero on that measure.
Source: iSelect
Source: iSelect
Townsville followed with more than 15,500 offences, while Rockhampton rounded out the top three.
Other Queensland areas including Logan, Brisbane, Mackay, Toowoomba and Ipswich also featured among the lowest-ranked suburbs.
Victoria was represented by Melbourne, Yarra, Monash, Darebin and Yarra Ranges – areas where older housing, storm exposure or lower emergency preparedness contributed to weaker scores.
When disaster risk meets real estate
Beyond crime, the index revealed where homes face the greatest natural hazard exposure.
The NSW Central Coast topped the country for flood risk, recording 68 flood events since 1989.
Armadale in Western Australia logged 2,427 bushfire events over the same period – one of the highest fire profiles in the nation.
Monash in Melbourne’s southeast faced 1,109 severe storms between 2010 and 2021, with hail among the biggest threats.
Source: iSelect
Major centres including Brisbane, Townsville and Darwin also ranked high for overlapping hazards.
By contrast, Hobsons Bay in Victoria ranked lowest overall for natural disaster exposure, followed by Redland and Logan in Queensland.
Several Sydney suburbs – including Ryde, Willoughby, Randwick and Georges River – also recorded relatively low disaster risk.
The ageing homes factor
Housing age also proved critical.
Wyndham in Melbourne recorded the lowest concentration of pre-1980 homes, with just 11 older properties per 1000 people.
Sydney City and Maribyrnong followed, along with Casey, Camden and Canada Bay – suburbs where modern building standards boost resilience.
Source: iSelect
At the other extreme, Whitehorse in Melbourne topped the nation for older housing, with 292 pre-1980 buildings per 1000 residents and a building resilience score of zero.
Darebin, Banyule and Monash also ranked highly for ageing stock, highlighting the maintenance and weather-resilience challenges facing established Melbourne suburbs.
The property takeaway
For buyers and investors, the findings land at a critical time.
As extreme weather events intensify and insurance premiums climb, a suburb’s risk profile can directly influence both liveability and long-term capital growth.
“Even in suburbs that feel safe day-to-day, underinsurance can leave households exposed when the unexpected strikes,” Mr Bennett warned.
In a market obsessed with price growth and prestige, this new ranking delivers a blunt message: some postcodes are quietly protecting your biggest asset.
Others are exposing it.
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