The number of short-term car thefts in Australia fell to 31,266 in the year to March – the lowest annual level since tracking started in the 1970s.

The figure beats the previous record of 31,523 last calendar year, latest data from the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC) shows.

The 5% fall in short-term thefts of passenger and light commercial vehicles was led by reductions in NSW and Queensland, which dropped 12% to 8316 and 15% to 5930 respectively.

SA recorded a 13% drop to 1823 and WA fell 1% to 4461, the insurance industry-backed council says.

Victoria was the only state to record a rise in the year to March, up 5% to 8266 following an 11% increase last calendar year.

“It is a sign that the severe spike we saw in Victoria [last year] is coming down, which is good news, but Victoria is still a concern when we look at the declines in other states,” NMVTRC Executive Director Ray Carroll told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“There just was this outbreak… where young gangs are just going out stealing many cars at night. Victoria Police have been successful in arresting those offenders.”

Profit-motivated passenger and light commercial vehicle thefts grew 5% nationally to 10,469, with Victoria recording the biggest rise of 11% to 2768, followed by WA at 9% to 960.