The Offence of Stealing a Motor Vehicle, Vessel or Trailer in NSW

The New South Wales Police Force put out an appeal for information about a string of recent vehicle thefts that are alleged to have taken place on Wiradjuri land in the western New South Wales town of Warren.

The initial incident involved officers from the Orana Mid-Western Police District being called out to the Oxley Highway in Warren, after receiving reports about a vehicle on fire. On arrival, officers found a Kia Carnival engulfed in flames. And while Fire and Rescue NSW were able to put out the blaze, the vehicle, which the owner reported as having been stolen the day prior, was completely destroyed.

Orana Mid-Western police are further investigating the theft of an Isuzu utility, which went missing from a property on Riverview Street in Warren late night on 15 March 2026. The culprits had forced entry into the home on the property in order to steal the keys and then fled with the vehicle. The utility was then located at the intersection of Chester and Boston streets at 6.45 am the next day.

The third incident under investigation involves a white Hyundai sedan stolen from an address on Boss Avenue in Warren. This again involved the thieves forcing their way into the house to steal the keys before taking the car at around 1.30 am on 10 March 2026.

Three hours after the Hyundai had gone missing, police spotted it turning onto the Oxley Highway at about 4.30 am that same morning. Officers activated their warning signals, and when the vehicle failed to stop, a police pursuit commenced but was then promptly terminated when officers lost sight of the stolen car, which was located 10 minutes later abandoned on Lawson Street in Warren.

The crime of motor vehicle theft

If Orana Mid-Western police do happen to track down the car thieves terrorising the town of Warren over the last month or so, they will likely be charged with a number of stealing, break and enter, arson and driving offences, with the charges pressed against each individual depending on what they’re considered to have partaken in whilst the crimes were being committed.

The crime that encompasses the alleged stealing of the vehicles is the offence of stealing a motor vehicle, vessel or trailer which is contained in section 154F of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) andcarries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

To prove that those arrested and charged over the Warren motor vehicle thefts actually took the vehicles, the prosecution needs to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they took the motor vehicle, which they were not legally authorised to do so, and they were well aware of this, while in taking the vehicle, they intended to permanently deprive the owner of it.

A motor vehicle is defined, under section 154E of the Crimes Act, as “a vehicle that is built to be propelled by a motor that forms part of the vehicle”, which is the definition contained in section 4 of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW), or a motor vehicle is a motor that is capable of forming part of any such vehicle, or it is any part of any such motor vehicle containing, or consisting of, an identification plate for a vehicle under the now repealed Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 (Cth).

Section 5 of the Marine Safety Act 1998 (NSW) defines a vessel as a transport watercraft of any description, or a thing prescribed by regulations as a vessel, or a thing subject to a temporary vessel order, but this doesn’t include a watercraft that is prescribed by the regulations as not being a vessel. A vessel can also include a non-displacement craft or a seaplane, while it is on the water.

Section 4 of the Road Transport Act defines a trailer as a vehicle built to be towed by a motor vehicle, and that cannot be propelled by itself. But a trailer does not include a motor vehicle being towed or anything declared by statutory rules as not being included in this definition.

The Crimes Amendment (Organised Car and Boat Theft) Bill 2006 inserted section 154F into the Crimes Act, but initially it only comprised of the offence of ‘stealing a motor vehicle or vessel’. This crime replaced the section 154AA of the Crimes Act offence of ‘stealing a motor vehicle’.

Trailer was subsequently added to the section 154F of the Crimes Act offence on 22 November 2019, via an amendment contained in the Justice Legislation Amendment Bill (No 2) 2019.

NSW Liberal MLC Natalie Ward explained during her second reading speech on the bill, that trailers were being added to a number of motor vehicle offences, as they cost about the same amount of money as a vehicle, and the inclusion would ensure that police take the theft trailers more seriously.

Defences available to a charge of motor theft

There are several defences open to a charge of stealing a motor vehicle, vessel or trailer. The most prominent is the defence of ‘claim of right’, which involves the accused claiming that they honestly believed they had the legal right to take the property, they’ve been charged with stealing.

The defence of duress can also be argued against a charge of motor theft. Duress entails a defendant putting to the court that they perpetrated their crimes, in order to prevent a much greater threat of harm to themselves or a loved one. The court needs to establish that the suggested threat was substantial enough to warrant breaking the law.

The third defence that can be argued against a charge of stealing a motor vehicle is the defence of necessity. This posits that the defendant broke the law in order to prevent much more dire circumstances from developing, which would have occurred if not for the fact that they broke the law in the manner that they did.

Motor theft stable in NSW

The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research released this state’s most recent crime statistics for the December 2025 quarter last week. BOCSAR outlined that of the 13 major crime categories, eight have been stable over the 24 months to December 2025, whilst three categories had declined significantly, and only two increased, which comprised of shoplifting and sexual assault.

In respect of motor vehicle theft, the rates had remained stable in Sydney, Greater Sydney and in regional NSW. However, in terms of the offence of motor theft over the past 10 years, the crime is trending upwards by 1.4 percent. Over the 12 months to December 2016, 13,110 motor vehicle thefts had taken place in NSW, whilst over the 12 months to December 2025, that came to 14,845.

And in terms of crime overall, BOCSAR reports that even though it is mostly stable, or trending downwards, NSW police initiated 7.9 percent more adult court proceedings over the 12 months of 2025 compared with 2024. And much of this is attributed to a rise in domestic violence legal actions, which are increasing both due to a spike in this violence and more willingness to report the crime.