Approximately 80-85 per cent of the insurance premiums paid in Australia each year are returned in claims paid to policyholders. Currently, this amounts to some A$14 billion dollars annually. Of this total, approximately 10 per cent or A$1.4 billion, are received by policyholders who, according to the Insurance Council of Australia, have fabricated or inflated a claim. The costs imposed by these frauds are borne by honest policyholders, who pay higher premiums. The burdens on law-abiding citizens and business people constitute an impediment to economic competitiveness which we as a nation can ill afford. This Trends and Issues paper provides an overview of insurance fraud in Australia, and the steps being taken by the insurance industry and by Australian police services to combat it.