Police advice for going away comes down to making the house look occupied and removing the signs that say it is not. Victoria Police gives the longest list, including telling police you will be away, and Tasmania Police and the WA Police Force add their own points.
Victoria Police’s heading for this advice says it plainly: make the house look occupied whenever you are out or away. Everything below is a way of doing that.
The signs of an empty house
Tasmania Police names one of the clearest: bins left out on the street for a long time suggest that your home may be unattended. Victoria Police’s list of steps deals with the others one by one: the newspapers, the mail and junk mail, the driveway, the lawn, the phone and the lights. Holiday plans and photos posted online are a sign too, and Victoria Police says to keep them off line until you are back.
Before you leave, and while you are gone
Before you leave
- VicCancel any newspaper subscriptions.
- VicWASet timers for lights, the radio or the TV; Victoria Police suggests varying the times they switch on and off.
- VicTurn the phone’s ringer down so a thief cannot hear it ringing.
- TasAsk someone to collect your mail, or ask your local post office to redirect or hold it.
- TasLock your gate as an added measure.
- TasClose and lock the garage.
While you are gone
- VicKeep holiday plans and photos off line until you are home.
- VicA video doorbell lets you answer someone at the door from wherever you are.
- VicVictoria Police suggests thinking about a house-sitter.
- TasIf your bins went out for collection, have a neighbour or family member bring them back in once they are emptied.
Who can help
Most of this needs a neighbour, friend or relative. Victoria Police suggests asking one of them to do four things while you are away.
| Task | Victoria Police | Tasmania Police |
|---|---|---|
| Collect your mail, junk mail included, or have it diverted. | Have someone collect it, or have it redirected or held at the post office. | |
| Bins | Take your bins out and bring them in. | Bring them back in after collection. |
| Driveway | Park their car in your driveway now and then. | Not covered on its page. |
| Garden | Mow the lawns and keep the garden up. | Its general advice is to keep grass low and shrubs trimmed so they cannot hide anyone. |
Tasmania Police’s wider advice about neighbours fits here too. It calls getting to know your neighbours the first line of defence against burglary, and suggests asking them to keep an eye on your property and offering to do the same for them.
In Victoria: tell police you will be away
Victoria Police invites you to let it know if you are leaving your home for an extended period, by registering your absence from residence through its page. This is Victoria Police’s own service. The other police pages used in this guide do not describe one, so check your own state’s police page.
Holiday advice from other states
Two more forces publish holiday advice of their own. The NSW Police Force links a “Home Protection Holiday Tips Flyer” from its Home safety page, and SA Police has a page called “Security when you’re away from home”. Both are listed at the foot of this page. The WA checklist adds a quieter point that suits any trip: keep your security and personal arrangements private.
The house you leave behind
A holiday is a good deadline for the advice in the other guides. Tasmania Police’s reminder applies to a fortnight as much as to a trip to the shops: lock up whenever you go out. Victoria Police and the WA Police Force both say to lock tools and ladders away, and to keep valuables out of sight from windows. Before you go, a current record of what you own is worth having too.
The guide to protecting property records explains how police pages suggest listing and marking what you own, and keys and changing locks covers who should hold a spare key while you are away. All six positions are on the home page.