The definitive phishing statistics Australia 2026 resource. Data sourced from the Australian Signals Directorate, National Anti-Scam Centre, ACCC Scamwatch, and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Take the Free Phishing Risk AssessmentThe phishing statistics for Australia 2026 paint a clear picture: the threat is growing in scale, cost, and sophistication. Every figure below is drawn from government and regulatory sources. Together they make the case for why phishing awareness training is no longer optional for Australian businesses of any size.
Australian businesses of all sizes are experiencing significant increases in the average cost per cybercrime incident. Medium and large businesses in particular saw dramatic year-on-year increases as attackers shifted toward higher-value targets.
Source: ASD Annual Cyber Threat Report
| Business Size | Employees | Average Cost Per Incident | Year-on-Year Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 1 to 19 | $56,600 | ▲ 14% |
| Medium | 20 to 199 | $97,200 | ▲ 55% |
| Large | 200+ | $202,700 | ▲ 219% |
| Overall average | All sizes | $80,850 | ▲ 50% |
Business email compromise and email-based attacks dominate the threat landscape for Australian organisations. Phishing remains the primary delivery mechanism across all categories.
Source: ASD Annual Cyber Threat Report
Phishing is consistently identified as the primary root cause of malicious data breaches in Australia. The OAIC's Notifiable Data Breach reports confirm that human identity rather than software vulnerabilities remains the primary attack surface.
Source: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
Industries handling high-value identity, health, or financial data consistently top the target lists for phishing, credential harvesting, and data exfiltration attacks.
Scamwatch and ReportCyber data aggregated by the National Anti-Scam Centre reveals the true financial scale of phishing and social engineering attacks against Australian individuals and businesses.
The ASD has explicitly warned that threat actors are actively using generative AI to scale phishing campaigns against Australian targets. AI has fundamentally changed what phishing looks like.
Source: ASD Annual Cyber Threat Report
AI has eliminated the classic indicators of phishing. International criminal syndicates can now generate flawless, culturally nuanced Australian corporate prose at scale; removing one of the most relied-upon employee detection signals.
Generative AI is being used to clone the voices and likenesses of executives and trusted colleagues; enabling vishing attacks that sound exactly like the person being impersonated. Less than 3 seconds of audio is required to clone a voice.
Alongside phishing, there was a 280% explosion in Denial-of-Service incidents targeting Australian critical infrastructure. Automated AI tools scan internet-facing corporate systems for unpatched vulnerabilities; particularly during low-staff holiday periods.
These numbers represent real Australian businesses. PhishByte's free phishing risk assessment shows you exactly where your team stands; in 60 seconds, with no sign-up required.
