Follow the sources. Understand the limits.
How Sceáwian assembled the Index from Australian public evidence, what each dataset can tell us and where a confident claim would go beyond the record.
What “Index” means here.
The Index is a structured analysis of published evidence. It is not a proprietary survey, a national audit or a composite numerical score.
We reviewed authoritative Australian material available by 28 September 2026, prioritising official statistics, regulator reports and primary guidance. Figures are attributed to their publishers. Sceáwian's interpretations and 2027 watchlist are identified as analysis.
We retained each source's unit, geography and reporting period. Calendar-year scam losses, financial-year survey estimates, cyber incident reports, breach notifications and whistleblower disclosures are not interchangeable. We did not add them into a supposed national fraud total.
The full 22-page PDF contains the source-linked charts, executive summary, corporate chapter, investigative implications and full reference notes.
Five different windows on risk.
Scam losses
The National Anti-Scam Centre's combined 2025 data records losses reported across participating channels. It describes reported harm, not every scam or every loss in Australia. [1]
Victimisation
The ABS Personal Fraud survey estimates experiences among people aged 15 and over in 2024–25. Its period, sample and concepts differ from administrative scam reports. [2]
Cybercrime
ASD/ACSC data reflects reports and self-reported business costs received through its systems. Reporting behaviour and case mix affect interpretation. [3]
Data breaches
OAIC notifications count eligible breaches reported under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme. A breach is not itself proof of subsequent identity fraud. [5]
Whistleblowing
ASIC's 134-company questionnaire captures designated-channel disclosures and reported programme practice. The sample is selected and self-reported, with some data outside Australia. [14]
Allegations
AIC's Commonwealth entity census records fraud and corruption allegations and outcomes within the Australian Government. It cannot stand in for private-sector prevalence. [6]
Keep the denominator in view.
Published figures may overlap in real-world events even where a publisher has adjusted its own sources. Detection effort, access to reporting channels, definitions, under-reporting and sampling error all shape the observed count. A rise in reports does not, by itself, prove a rise in underlying offending.
ASIC's average in-scope and substantiation proportions use company-level calculations and different denominators. They should not be multiplied by the 8,095 disclosures to imply a national number of substantiated frauds. [14]
- Separate periods. Label 2025 calendar-year figures and 2024–25 financial-year figures explicitly.
- Separate units. A person, report, notification, allegation, disclosure, matter and dollar loss are different things.
- Separate finding from lead. An anomaly, OSINT result or allegation needs corroboration and a fair response.
- Separate source from analysis. Forward-looking 2027 items are scenarios to monitor, not forecasts or measured outcomes.
What we did not quantify.
The public sources used here do not support a reliable total for internal fraud in Australian businesses, a comparable national insurance-fraud loss series or a defensible city-by-city ranking of fraud risk. The Index does not assign figures to those gaps. [1]–[6][11][12][14]
Corporate fraud typologies describe where investigators should look, not how often those mechanisms occur. Case studies from integrity bodies illustrate how a scheme can work; they are not prevalence estimates. [8]–[10]
See our detailed corporate fraud analysis for the record tests and governance questions.
Open the primary record.
Reference numbers match those in the PDF. Source titles and dates are presented for traceability; the publisher's own methodology governs each statistic.
- [1]National Anti-Scam Centre / ACCC — Targeting Scams 2025Published 30 March 2026. Combined reported scam data, categories and methods.
- [2]Australian Bureau of Statistics — Personal Fraud 2024–25Released 12 March 2026. Household survey and national victimisation estimates.
- [3]ASD/ACSC — Annual Cyber Threat Report 2024–25Published 14 October 2025. ReportCyber and business cybercrime measures.
- [4]Australian Institute of Criminology — Cybercrime in Australia 2025Statistical Report 59, published 30 June 2026. Online-panel survey.
- [5]OAIC — 2025 Notifiable Data Breaches statisticsPublished 6 July 2026. Eligible notifications, causes and sectors.
- [6]Australian Institute of Criminology — Fraud and corruption against the Commonwealth 2024–25Statistical Report 61, published 11 June 2026. Census of 162 Commonwealth entities.
- [7]ASIC — warning on AI-enabled investment scams2026 media release 26-195MR. Examples of synthetic credibility cues.
- [8]Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre — Procurement Administration Counter Fraud ToolkitOctober 2024. Procurement lifecycle risk guidance.
- [9]National Anti-Corruption Commission — Annual Report 2024–25Procurement case illustration and strategic priority.
- [10]NSW ICAC — Operation Tivoli2026 case material on qualifications, conflicts and secondary employment.
- [11]Insurance Council of Australia — fraud-detection collaboration20 November 2025. Industry response, initially focused on motor claims.
- [12]Insurance Council of Australia — insurance fraudConsumer information and fraud typology.
- [13]ASD/ACSC — cyber security incident response planningPractitioner guidance on documenting evidence collection and preservation.
- [14]ASIC — REP 827: Insights from the whistleblower questionnairePublished 4 December 2025. July 2024–June 2025 responses from 134 selected companies.
Keep the full record.
Download the illustrated 22-page report with linked sources and the corporate chapter.
Edition date: 28 September 2026. Recheck source pages before reuse after this date.