WA’s 1200-kilometre trail of stolen copper cable could stretch from Perth to Exmouth

Widespread outages across Perth’s road network have been linked to stolen copper cables taken from street and shared path lighting, with the total length of cable stolen over the past eight years able to stretch from Perth to Exmouth.

Main Roads has revealed that 1200 kilometres of copper cable had been stolen from their electrical pit and conduit system since 2019.

In the 2023-24 financial year, Main Roads lost about 297 kilometres worth of copper cable to theft – a number that increased to 366 kilometres in the 2024-25 financial year.

Figures for 2025-26, up to March 8, indicate Main Roads has already lost about 186 kilometres of copper cable to theft.

That has led to an $11.8 million boost in the recent WA budget to replace those stolen cables, and implement anti-theft treatments along the Kwinana Freeway, and Tonkin and Reid Highways.

Main Roads, which is also trialling new technology to stop the theft, said those three major roads were a priority for cable replacement.

But they said works were also planned in key locations along Forrest Highway, Great Northern Highway, Albany Highway, Ennis Avenue, Mandurah Road and Armadale Road.

“Cable theft from street lighting and Principal Shared Path lighting circuits has continued across the network in recent years, leading to widespread outages,” a Main Roads spokesperson said.

“The issue of widespread copper cable theft is a global issue, with unprecedented levels of theft being experienced not only by Main Roads, but other agencies across Western Australia.

“We are also working closely with WA Police to investigate methods to capture and prosecute thieves and vandals.”

One Perth scrap metal business told this masthead stolen copper cables were a concerning and ongoing issue, and that they now mostly dealt with tradies or reputable businesses to avoid issues.

They said scrap copper traded for between $3 and $8 per kilogram, depending on the quality.

In June 2025, Labor MLC Samantha Rowe also discussed the issue in parliament, stating there had been a “significant increase in the incidences of cable theft across its road network over the past few years”.

“The incidence of cable theft in the 2023-24 financial year increased by over 85 per cent more than the prior financial year,” she said.

“Due to the extensive nature of this issue, including re-cabled sites being targeted multiple times, Main Roads is experiencing long lead times for the procurement of replacement cables and subsequent resource availability constraints, which is causing delays to the growing backlog of works.

“Given the large amount of cable to be replaced, the reinstallation of lighting across the network is being prioritised with the highest volume transport routes.”

In 2020, WA introduced significant legislative changes to crack down on copper theft.

Any business or individual wishing to trade in scrap copper or copper alloys must hold a Second-hand Dealer’s Licence and sellers are now legally required to provide 100 points of identification when dropping off copper.