Business break-in or ram raid: your first 48 hours, step by step

The alarm company rings at 3.12am. Or a staff member arrives to open up and finds the front door glass on the floor. Or worse, there’s a car through the shopfront.

A break-in feels personal, and the instinct is to rush in, check the till and start sweeping. Don’t — not yet. The order you do things in over the next two days decides how smoothly the insurance claim runs, how quickly you reopen, and whether a second problem (stolen keys, a stolen laptop, a stolen cheque book) turns up next week.

Here’s the order. Keep this page open on your phone and work down it.

What should I do in the first hour?

People first, property second.

1. Don’t go in if anyone could still be inside. Wait outside or in your car with the doors locked.
2. Call Triple Zero (000) if the break-in is in progress, the offenders may be nearby, someone is injured or the building is unsafe — for example a vehicle has hit the structure, or there’s gas, water or exposed wiring.
3. If it’s over and everyone’s safe, report it. Most states and territories use the Police Assistance Line, 131 444, for non-urgent crime. Victoria Police, for example, says 131 444 is for non-urgent crimes and events, and its online reporting includes burglary and can be made on behalf of a business.
4. Keep everyone out of the damaged area. Staff, neighbours, the landlord — even you. Fingerprints, footprints and dropped items matter.
5. Write the reference number down. Online reports in Victoria generate a “Notice to the Victim” with a reference number “for insurance purposes”. NSW callers get an event number. Whatever your state calls it, your insurer will ask for it first.

If a ram raid has damaged the building itself, also call your landlord or building manager, and an engineer or builder if anything looks structurally wrong. The premises fire page covers what to do when you can’t safely get back in.

What shouldn’t I touch?

Until police attend or tell you they won’t be coming:

• Don’t sweep glass, tidy shelves or straighten displays.
• Don’t touch the entry point, the till, the safe or anything that looks moved.
• Don’t throw out damaged stock or packaging.
• Do save the CCTV. Many systems overwrite after a few days. Export the footage from before, during and after the break-in to a USB stick or cloud folder, and note the camera times against the real time.

If police say they won’t attend, that’s common for smaller break-ins. Photograph and video every room before you start the clean-up. Our guide to documenting damage for insurance has a shot list.

Who should I call, and in what order?

Order	Who	Why
1	Police — 000 or 131 444	Safety, investigation, reference number
2	Your insurer or broker	Start the claim; ask what they need and whether they’ll send an assessor
3	Emergency glazier or board-up service	Secure the premises tonight
4	Locksmith and alarm company	Re-key locks, reset codes, check what failed
5	Your bank	If cards, cheque books, banking devices or the safe were taken
6	IT provider	If computers, phones or tablets were stolen
7	Landlord	Lease obligations on glass, doors and security
8	Staff	Who’s safe to come in, roster changes, support

Ask the insurer one specific question on that first call: “Can I organise the emergency board-up and lock change now, and will that be covered?” Most policies expect you to prevent further loss, but get the answer noted with the claim number.

If you know who did it or someone has information, Crime Stoppers takes anonymous tips on 1800 333 000.

What gets missed after a break-in?

The visible damage is the glass. The expensive damage is often what the thief can do next with what they took. Go through this list carefully:

• Keys — if any keys were taken (to the shop, a vehicle, a storeroom, your home), re-key or replace the locks today, not when it suits.
• Alarm codes — change every code, and ask the alarm company for the arm/disarm log.
• Laptops, tablets and phones — use remote lock and wipe, sign the device out of email and accounting software, and change passwords starting with email and banking.
• EFTPOS terminals — tell your provider; they can deactivate a terminal.
• Cheque books, cards and bank tokens — tell the bank so they can stop or cancel them.
• Customer files and paperwork — note what was taken (see the data breach section below).
• Your business identity — letterhead, invoice books or a stolen computer can be used to impersonate you to suppliers and customers. Warn key customers that your bank details have not changed, and call before acting on any “new account” request. Our payment redirection scams guide explains why this matters.

Is a stolen laptop or phone a data breach?

It can be. The OAIC’s Notifiable Data Breaches scheme lists “a device with a customer’s personal information is lost or stolen” as an example of a data breach. If the Privacy Act covers your business and the breach is likely to result in serious harm to the people involved, it must be notified to the affected individuals and the OAIC.

Not every small business is covered by the Privacy Act, and an encrypted, remotely wiped device may not create a likely risk of serious harm. But don’t guess:

1. Write down exactly what was on each device and whether it was encrypted and password-protected.
2. Wipe it remotely and change every password it held.
3. Check the OAIC guidance on whether your business is covered and whether this breach is likely to cause serious harm.
4. If you’re unsure, ask your IT provider or adviser this week — not next month.

If the break-in has turned into a broader systems problem, the cyber attack page has the recovery steps and the hotline numbers.

How do I make the insurance claim run smoothly?

Insurers move faster when the claim arrives complete. Build one folder — paper and cloud — with:

• the police reference or event number
• date-stamped photos and video of every room and the entry point
• a list of everything stolen or damaged: description, quantity, serial number, purchase date, receipt or bank statement entry
• your last stocktake or stock report, and sales records for the days before
• the CCTV export
• quotes and invoices for the board-up, glazier, locksmith and repairs
• a note of lost trading hours if you had to close

Then read your policy schedule for four things: theft cover (some policies need visible forced entry), glass cover (sometimes a separate section), cash limits (cash on premises overnight is often capped low), and your excess. If you also have business interruption cover, ask whether a closure after a break-in triggers it.

If the claim stalls, the insurance claim delay page explains the General Insurance Code of Practice timeframes and what you can ask for.

Funding the gap while the claim is assessed is one of the most common reasons owners contact us. If that’s you, you can see what’s possible in about a minute.

What about the ATO and lost records?

If the computer holding your books was stolen, or paperwork went with it, and a BAS or other lodgement is coming up, call the ATO before the due date — on 13 11 42 for lodgement and payment help. The ATO says it can replace lost or damaged tax records such as past returns, activity statements and notices of assessment, and your bank and cloud accounting software can fill most other gaps.

On stock: the ATO treats an insurance payout for lost trading stock as assessable income, and replacement stock is a normal deductible purchase. Our restocking after a loss page goes through it.

How do I look after staff after a break-in?

A break-in can shake staff more than owners expect, especially if someone discovered it or it happened while they were working.

• Don’t make the person who found it do the clean-up alone.
• Tell staff what’s been done to secure the premises before asking them back.
• Be honest about rosters and pay if you’re closed for a day or two.
• Point people to Lifeline (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 224 636) if anyone’s struggling — and that includes you. More options are on our free support page.

When can I reopen?

Usually once the premises are secure, police have finished, the insurer has seen what they need, and you’ve got enough stock and equipment to trade. Many shops reopen within a day or two behind a boarded window. Some can’t — a ram raid that damages the structure, or the theft of the coffee machine, the POS system or the tools you work with, can mean a week or more.

A worked example

An illustrative example, not a real business.

A homewares shop in a regional Queensland town is hit overnight. The front door is smashed, the till drawer and two laptops are taken, and so are the back-door keys.

• Hour 1: The owner waits outside, calls 131 444 and gets a reference number. Staff are told to stay home.
• Hour 3: Police attend. The owner exports the CCTV and photographs every room once they’ve finished.
• Hour 4: Insurer called; the claim is lodged and an emergency board-up and lock change are approved on the call.
• Same day: Laptops wiped remotely; email, banking and accounting passwords changed; alarm codes reset; back-door locks re-keyed; the bank told about the stolen deposit book.
• Day 2: The owner checks the OAIC guidance about the customer mailing list on one laptop, emails key suppliers to confirm bank details haven’t changed, and reopens behind plywood.
• Week 2: The insurer is still assessing. The owner needs the glass, a replacement laptop, and the excess paid now, and uses short-term working capital sized on bank statements to cover it until the claim settles.

Ready to cover the gap? Here’s how we help

A break-in leaves two kinds of damage: the shopfront you can see, and the cash flow hole you can’t. Insurance will hopefully cover most of it in time. The trouble is the bills — glazier, locksmith, replacement gear, the excess, the stock you need to trade this weekend — arrive this week.

That’s the gap we work on. Unsecured funding for trading businesses typically runs from $5,000 to $500,000 and is sized on your turnover and bank statements, with same-day funding possible for smaller amounts. Larger amounts can be secured against residential or commercial property.

What to expect when you enquire:

• About 60 seconds to fill in, and no credit check when you first enquire.
• Your details aren’t sent to a pile of lenders. No “spray and pray”, and no phone ringing off the hook with strangers.
• A real person reads what happened and calls you to talk through what’s realistic for your situation.

Please fill the form in accurately: what was taken or damaged, the amount you need, whether a claim is lodged, and any property you own. It’s the same principle as the police report — get the details right up front and everything after it moves faster.

See if you qualify →