Sydney

Is Sydney safe?

Yes. Sydney is one of the safest large cities we score, and the dangers most visitors meet are natural rather than criminal. The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) recorded 48 murder victims across Greater Sydney in the year to June 2026, a rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people, about the same as Toronto and well under London. The US State Department keeps Australia at Level 1, its lowest advisory.

The catch is terrorism. In December 2025, 15 people were killed in an antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, and the UK Foreign Office says further attacks in Australia are likely. Twenty months earlier, a man with a long history of mental illness killed six people in a stabbing at Westfield Bondi Junction; the NSW coroner delivered findings on that attack in February 2026. Neither event changes the everyday odds much, but they are why we score violent crime 88 rather than in the 90s. We score Sydney 86 overall.

Theft and scams

Street theft has fallen a long way. In the City of Sydney council area, which covers the CBD, The Rocks, Darling Harbour, Surry Hills and Kings Cross, police recorded 309 thefts from the person in 2025–26, against 1,283 in 2016–17. Across Greater Sydney, theft from the person runs at about 21 per 100,000 people, and robbery at about 20.

What still goes wrong for visitors:

• Bags on the beach. Bondi, Coogee and Manly see bags, phones and car keys taken while owners swim. Leave valuables at the hotel or bring a waterproof pouch.
• Hire cars. BOCSAR recorded more than 13,000 thefts from motor vehicles in Greater Sydney in the year. Leave nothing visible, especially at beach and national park car parks.
• Online scams. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary notes fake accommodation sites and rental scams. Book through known platforms and never pay a deposit by bank transfer to a stranger.

After dark: CBD, Kings Cross and Oxford Street

Central Sydney is busy until late and feels safe on the main streets. The risk at night is alcohol. The City of Sydney council area records about 3,000 non-domestic assaults a year, a rate per resident several times the metro average, though the comparison is inflated because millions of people visit an area where few live. Most of these are fights outside venues in the George Street entertainment strip, Kings Cross and Oxford Street, after midnight.

Practical steps: stay out of arguments in taxi queues, get a licensed taxi or ride app rather than walking long distances late, and keep an eye on your drink. Women alone use trains at night routinely; late at night, sit in a carriage with other passengers near the middle of the train, where the guard rides.

Roads and getting around

Transport for NSW counted 92 road deaths in Greater Sydney in 2025, about 1.7 per 100,000 people, against 355 across the whole state. Most deaths happen on regional roads. In the city, the risk for visitors is looking the wrong way: traffic drives on the left, and pedestrian deaths in NSW rose from 43 in 2024 to 54 in 2025. Use marked crossings and wait for the green figure, which locals mostly do.

Trains, ferries, light rail and buses take you almost everywhere a visitor goes, with an Opal card or a contactless bank card. The Manly ferry is the best and safest way to see the harbour.

Sun, sea and smoke

The ocean is the biggest hazard. Rip currents run on every ocean beach, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary calls them the main danger for all swimmers. Swim only between the red and yellow flags, where lifesavers patrol. Check the depth before jumping into rock pools or shallow surf; the FCDO says British visitors have been injured by diving into water that was too shallow.

Summer brings heat, intense UV and bushfire risk from November to February. Fires in the Blue Mountains and the outer suburbs can fill the city with smoke for days, as they did in the Black Summer of 2019–20. In normal years the air is clean: Australia's population-weighted PM2.5PM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary was 4.5 µg/m³ in 2024, within the WHO guideline. Download the NSW "Hazards Near Me" app and the Bureau of Meteorology app before hiking. Heavy rain from east coast lows can also flood roads quickly.

Tap water is safe and emergency care is excellent. Dial 000 for police, fire or ambulance. For risks outside the city, from outback driving to wildlife, see our Australia page.

How we scored it

Health and environment (92) and traffic safety (91) are Sydney's strongest factors, and violent crime (88) would be higher without the Bondi attacks. Natural hazards (80) is the weakest, because of bushfires, heat and dangerous surf. For other very safe big cities, compare Singapore and London.