The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) have exposed the impact and scale of serious and organised crime in Australia. The AIC has today released the latest figures for the cost of serious and organised crime, as featured in the ACIC’s new report Opening the Books: The impact of serious and organised crime on Australia in 2025.
In 2023–24, the cost of organised crime to Australia grew to $82.3 billion, a sharp $13.6 billion increase from $68.7 billion in 2022–23.
The AIC report, The costs of serious and organised crime in Australia, 2023–24, outlines the direct and consequential cost to Australia (up to $58.9 billion) and the indirect cost of preventing serious and organised crime incurred by government, business and individuals (up to $23.4 billion).
“This isn’t just a staggering number – it is indicative of the threat posed to the safety and security of Australia and Australians. The criminal landscape in Australia has fundamentally shifted. High-level criminals are continuously evolving their networks and operations allowing them to profit at the expense of the Australian public, damage our economy, and threaten our national security,” Heather Cook, ACIC CEO and Director of the AIC said.
Illicit drugs account for almost 50 per cent of the direct costs at $19.0 billion, followed by organised financial crime ($13.2 billion), trafficking illicit commodities ($8.6 billion) and cybercrime ($4.5 billion). Illicit tobacco cost Australia $4 billion, which has increased four-fold over the past three years.
“Criminals are more sophisticated today in their use of technology and other crime enablers. They hide and access their illicit profits through money laundering and exploitation of digital currency systems, and increasing operate remotely and online to obscure their identities and scale their enterprises. We are also seeing more recruitment and use of professional facilitators such as lawyers, accountants and real estate agents,” Ms Cook said.
“Part of this is the adverse consequence of the new age of technology, but the more we discover about their tactics, the better we, and our partners, become at combatting this serious threat.”
While the scale of the harm is substantial, intelligence and law enforcement agencies are working together every day to detect and disrupt criminal networks and protect Australian communities.
Opening the Books: The impact of serious and organised crime on Australia in 2025 is available on the ACIC website.
The costs of serious and organised crime in Australia, 2023–24 is available on the AIC website.
ACIC AND AIC MEDIA
media@acic.gov.au
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