Metal thieves will face up to life in prison if they endanger lives or disrupt critical infrastructure under new laws introduced by the Queensland Government.
The laws are designed to specifically address the danger and infrastructure disruption caused by theft of metal, such as copper.
Secondhand dealers will be required to record the photographic identity of sellers and report suspected stolen metal, while unlicensed dealers will also be penalised.
More than 200 copper theft cases have been reported in Queensland in 2025, with incidents disrupting telecommunications and power supply, notably during the lead-up to ex-tropical cyclone Koji earlier this year in 2026.
The Energy Queensland submission to the 2023 parliamentary inquiry into scrap metal theft said copper wire theft was the main problem because it was most commonly stolen from poles in the street, storage facilities, substations and depots.
Subsequent power outages caused interruptions to customers, loss of trade to businesses, and interruptions to hospitals, schools, and infrastructure such as traffic lights and telecommunications, the submission said.
“In particular, recent trends have seen an increase in the targeting of housing estates during the construction phase as electrical infrastructure is installed,” the submission said.
Theft of copper from the statewide infrastructure energy network nearly tripled between 2020 and 2022, costing Energy Queensland more than $4.5 million annually.
Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery said rampant copper theft on the streets and in sporting clubs meant they were often plunged into darkness, causing grave safety concerns.
“These laws are much-needed to put a stop to this criminal scourge, which has negatively impacted our communities for too long,” Mayor Flannery said.
“It will prevent public safety from being put at risk due to streets being left in the dark, ensure residents have reliable power, and keep sporting fields lit up at night so kids can play sport.”
Townsville Mayor Nick Darnetto said the thefts put people’s lives at risk during Cyclone Koji when telecommunications outages impacted emergency alerts.
“Copper theft has become a major problem with construction and road infrastructure projects being targeted,” Mr Darnetto said.
Meanwhile, police have charged a 50 year-old Gold Coast man for possession of 162 kilograms of copper wiring and electrical conduit, which they suspect was stolen from a building site, plus tools including bolt cutters and equipment to strip copper cabling.
He is due to appear before the Southport Magistrates Court on March 17, 2026.
He has also been given notice to appear for two counts of possessing dangerous drugs and one count each of supplying dangerous drugs, possessing utensils that had been used in connection with a dangerous drug offence, and failing to properly dispose of a needle and syringe.
Recent examples of serious electrical incidents involving copper theft, according to Energy Queensland:
- 2020 – a person was found dead after being electrocuted trying to steal copper from an industrial estate in Queensland
- 2020 – a person escaped electrocution after chopping through an 11,000-volt Energex cable with an axe. This incident led to power outages to more than 800 homes in the relevant areas.
- 2022 – a person used an axe to strike a power pole multiple times in an attempt to steal copper wire, sparking a pole fire and an emergency outage.
- 2023 – an offender attached a car to a live 11,000-volt underground cable, which was secured to a pole. The live cable was torn off the pole and when it hit the ground a flashover occurred, starting a grassfire.
- 2023 – offender stole three km of copper cable from roadside in Brisbane impacting over 80 streetlights.
- 2023 – offender cut through a live 11,000 volt cable on a bridge with an angle grinder narrowly avoiding a fatal injury and leading to a 36-hour outage to the Arnott’s biscuit factory in Virginia, Brisbane affecting 600 employees.
- There have been multiple incidents where members of the public have attempted to steal copper assets, using various uninsulated tools, such as an axe/hatchet, where flashovers have occurred because the electrical assets were energised. There’s a risk of burns, electric shock and electrocution.
