Victoria still leads the nation despite frenzied pre-election falsehoods

With elections looming in Victoria and NSW, Alan Austin compares all Australian states on 40 key variables.

VOTERS ARE ENTITLED to know how their state governments are delivering services and protecting their communities.

Tragically, the mainstream newsrooms in Australia are committed to concealing this information and routinely falsifying it to suit their self-serving political agenda.

These selected tables show outcomes for all six states, ranked in order of success.

Annual capital city inflation, September 2026

Victoria: 4.01%;
New South Wales: 4.31%;
Queensland: 4.41%;
Western Australia: 4.52%;
South Australia: 5.01%;
Tasmania: 5.28%; and
Australia: 4.34%.

Median retail electricity prices per kilowatt-hour

Victoria: 26c;
Tasmania: 27.9c;
Queensland: 27.9c;
Western Australia: 29c;
NSW: 32.2c; and
South Australia: 41.8c.

Ranking of capital cities on the 2026 Economist Global Liveability Index

Melbourne ranked 3rd, score 97;
Sydney ranked 4th, score 96.6;
Adelaide ranked 8th, score 95.9;
Perth ranked 13th;
Brisbane ranked 14th; and
Hobart not listed in top 173 cities.

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Road fatality rate per 100,000 people for 12 months to September 2026

Victoria: 3.8;
New South Wales: 4.1;
Queensland: 5.5;
South Australia: 5.6;
Tasmania: 6; and
Western Australia: 6.5.

Life expectancy in years

Western Australia: 83.6;
Victoria: 83.4;
New South Wales: 83.2;
South Australia: 82.9;
Queensland: 82.5;
Tasmania: 82; and
Australia: 83.

Electric cars as share of car sales in Q2 2026

Victoria: 34.1%;
New South Wales: 31.4%;
Tasmania: 30.5%;
Western Australia: 30.1%;
Queensland: 29.5%; and
South Australia: 29.2%.

Percentage change in number of public hospitals, 2021 to 2025

Victoria: +2.6%;
New South Wales: +1.4%;
Western Australia: +1.1%;
South Australia: 0%;
Queensland: -0.8%;
Tasmania: -4.2%; and
Australia: +0.9%.

Overseas trips in 2025-26 per hundred residents

Western Australia: 55.6;
Victoria: 48.4;
New South Wales: 47.2;
Queensland: 42.2;
South Australia: 30.3;
Tasmania: 22.5; and
Australia: 45.5%.

Number of migrants settled 2022 to 2025

New South Wales: 473,450;
Victoria: 442,240;
Queensland: 244,660;
Western Australia: 182,140;
South Australia: 85,920;
Tasmania: 15,100; and
Australia: 1,480,980.

Migrants accepted 2022 to 2025 as a percentage of 2022 population

Victoria: 6.69%;
Western Australia: 6.52%;
New South Wales: 5.79%;
South Australia: 4.71%;
Queensland: 4.61%; and
Tasmania: 2.64%.

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Population increase over the last four years

Western Australia: 10.8%;
Victoria: 8.2%;
Queensland: 8.1%;
New South Wales: 6%;
South Australia: 5%;
Tasmania: 1.5%; and
Australia: 7.3%.

Percentage of the population with an advanced diploma, bachelor’s degree or higher

Victoria: 47.5%;
New South Wales: 44.9%;
Western Australia: 39.9%;
Queensland: 39.2%;
South Australia: 37.1%;
Tasmania: 35%; and
Australia: 43.2%.

Year 3 student NAPLAN scores for reading 2026

Victoria: 418.1;
New South Wales: 409.7;
South Australia: 391.1;
Western Australia: 390.5;
Queensland: 386;
Tasmania: n/a; and
Australia: 402.5.

Budget surplus/deficit in 2025-26

Victoria: $16.0 billion surplus;
Western Australia: $1.8 billion surplus;
Tasmania: $1.1 billion deficit;
South Australia: $2.1 billion deficit;
New South Wales: $15.9 billion deficit; and
Queensland: $16.9 billion deficit.

Budget surplus/deficit in 2025-26 as a percentage of gross state product

Victoria: 2.4% surplus;
Western Australia: 0.4% surplus;
South Australia: -1.3% deficit;
New South Wales: -1.8% deficit;
Tasmania: -2.2% deficit; and
Queensland: -3.0% deficit.

Gross state product in 2025-26 in $ billions

New South Wales: $905.4;
Victoria: $670.7;
Queensland: $556.2;
Western Australia: $485.6;
South Australia: $165.8; and
Tasmania: $47.2.

Increase in gross state product over the last four years

South Australia: 28.1%;
New South Wales: 28%;
Victoria: 27.9%;
Tasmania: 25.5%;
Queensland: 22.1%; and
Western Australia: 20.3%.

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Job participation rate in September 2026

Western Australia: 69.1%;
Victoria: 67.4%;
Queensland: 66.9%;
New South Wales: 65.7%;
South Australia: 64.1%;
Tasmania: 59.7%; and
Australia: 66.8%.

Jobless rate in September 2026

Western Australia: 4.2%;
South Australia: 4.2%;
Queensland: 4.5%;
New South Wales: 4.7%;
Tasmania: 5%;
Victoria: 5.1%; and
Australia: 4.7%.

Employment growth 2022 to 2026

Western Australia: 12.7%;
Queensland: 9.4%;
Victoria: 9.4%;
South Australia: 8.8%;
New South Wales: 5.5%;
Tasmania: -1.90%; and
Australia: 8.1%.

Current growth in employee incomes, 2025 to 2026

South Australia: 7.5%;
Victoria: 7.1%;
Tasmania: 6.5%;
Western Australia: 6.2%;
New South Wales: 6%;
Queensland: 5.9%; and
Australia: 6.3%.

Increase in private new capital expenditure from 2022 to 2026

Victoria: 62.2%;
New South Wales: 56.2%;
Western Australia: 47.3%;
South Australia: 39.3%;
Queensland: 31.7%;
Tasmania: -1.6%; and
Australia: 47.4%.

Economic activity as measured by increase in state final demand, Q2 2026

Queensland: 1.1%;
Western Australia: 1%;
Tasmania: 0.1%;
New South Wales: 0%;
South Australia: 0%; and
Victoria: -0.3%.

Increase in state final demand, financial year 2025-26

South Australia: 3.7%;
Western Australia: 3.5%;
New South Wales: 3.3%;
Queensland: 3.3%;
Victoria: 3%; and
Tasmania: -0.2%.

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Government spending per capita in 2025-26

New South Wales: $14,900;
Victoria: $15,500;
Western Australia: $15,800;
South Australia: $16,900;
Queensland: $17,500; and
Tasmania: $18,400.

Gross debt as a percentage of gross state product

Western Australia: 7.3%;
Queensland: 16.5%;
Tasmania: 18.7%;
New South Wales: 19.7%;
South Australia: 23.1%;
Victoria: 30.5%; and
Commonwealth: 33.1%.

Export revenue for the 12 months to September 2026

Western Australia: $239 billion;
Queensland: $103.1 billion;
New South Wales: $102.8 billion;
Victoria: $38.2 billion;
South Australia: $18.7 billion; and
Tasmania: $5.4 billion.

Increase/decrease in export income from 2022 to 2026

South Australia: 26.3%;
New South Wales: 24.9%;
Victoria: 18%;
Tasmania: 5.9%;
Western Australia: -1.3%; and
Queensland: -16.4%.

Value of new residential homes built in the June quarter 2026

Victoria: $8.18 billion;
New South Wales: $6.0 billion;
Queensland: $5.91 billion;
Western Australia: $3.02 billion;
South Australia: $1.56 billion; and
Tasmania: $270 million.

Value of residential building in the June quarter 2026 per population

Victoria: $1,143;
Queensland: $1,030;
Western Australia: $975;
South Australia: $814;
New South Wales: $773; and
Tasmania: $465.

Number of first home buyers in Q2 2026 per million population

Victoria: 1,165;
Western Australia: 1,037;
South Australia: 999;
Queensland: 850;
New South Wales: 739; and
Tasmania: 682.

Number of first home buyers in the year 2025-26 per million population

Victoria: 5,480;
Western Australia: 4,687;
Tasmania: 4,197;
Queensland: 4,020;
South Australia: 4,006; and
New South Wales: 3,363.

Increase in number of new housing loans 2025 to 2026

New South Wales: 5.6%;
Tasmania: 4.2%;
Victoria: 3.1%;
Queensland: 0.2%;
South Australia: -0.3%; and
Western Australia: -3.2%.

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Increase in value of new housing loans 2025 to 2026

Queensland: 14.7%;
New South Wales: 12.5%;
South Australia: 12%;
Western Australia: 12%;
Tasmania: 11.6%; and
Victoria: 9.1%.

Increase in capital city median weekly rents 2020 to 2025

Tasmania: $125;
Victoria: $145;
South Australia: $225;
New South Wales: $260;
Queensland: $270; and
Western Australia: $340.

Violent crime rate per 100,000 population in 2025

Tasmania: 867;
Victoria: 1,057;
New South Wales: 1,134;
South Australia: 1,303;
Queensland: 1,441;
Western Australia: 2,095;
Australia: 1,308.

Sexual assault rate per 100,000 population in 2025

Victoria: 95;
Tasmania: 101;
South Australia: 107;
Western Australia: 119;
Queensland: 162;
New South Wales: 194; and
Australia: 144.

Homicide rates per 100,000 population in 2024-25

Queensland: 0.62;
South Australia: 0.74;
Tasmania: 0.87;
New South Wales: 0.97;
Western Australia: 1.06;
Victoria: 1.17; and
Australia: 0.96.

Prisoners per 100,000 adults in the population in 2025

Victoria: 118.2;
Tasmania: 172.1;
New South Wales: 194.3;
South Australia: 224.8;
Queensland: 255;
Western Australia: 357.1; and
Australia: 216.4.

Change in imprisonment rates over the last four years, per 100,000 adults

Tasmania: -29.5;
Victoria: -22.8;
New South Wales: -13.3;
South Australia: +7.2;
Queensland: +7.3;
Western Australia: +39.4; and
Australia: +1.7.

Of these 40 variables, Victoria leads on 18, Western Australia on eight, South Australia and NSW on four, with Tasmania and Queensland both on three.

Significantly, Victoria is in the top three on 33 of these measures.

Additions to this list and further analysis are invited in the discussion below.

Alan Austin is an Independent Australia columnist and freelance journalist. You can follow him on Twitter @alanaustin001 and Bluesky @alanaustin.bsky.social.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License

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