There are very few experiences that shake a household the way a break-in does. The violation of a private space, the loss of valuables, the awareness that someone unknown was inside the home, all of it lingers far longer than the actual incident. And in the hours and days that follow, most people aren't thinking clearly enough to make confident decisions about what to do next. The shock takes precedence, and important steps either get rushed or forgotten entirely.

This guide is written for that exact moment. It's not a security marketing piece dressed up as advice. It's a practical, ordered walkthrough of what to actually do after a break-in at your Melbourne home, in the right sequence, so the recovery is as thorough as the situation deserves. The first 48 hours matter, and the steps you take in that window shape both the police investigation and the long-term security of your property.

Step One: Don't Go Inside Immediately

The instinct after discovering a break-in is to walk through the house and assess the damage. Resist it. There are two reasons.

The first is safety. Most break-ins occur when no one is home, and most intruders leave well before the homeowner returns. But not all of them. If the break-in is fresh, particularly if you've come home to find a door open or a window smashed, the person responsible may still be on the property. Walking in without knowing risks a confrontation that's far more dangerous than the property loss itself.

The second is forensic. Every step you take inside disturbs the scene. Fingerprints get wiped from door handles. Footprints get walked over. Items get picked up and moved before police can document them. If you've discovered the break-in by walking in and immediately seeing it, step back outside. Don't keep walking. The few minutes you save by waiting are worth more than the appearance of urgency.

Step Two: Call the Police Before Anything Else

Triple zero (000) is for emergencies in progress, including break-ins where you suspect the offender may still be present or have just left. If the break-in is clearly old, hours or days, call the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or attend your local station to file a report.

Either way, you need a police report. There are several reasons:

Insurance claims almost universally require a police report number. Without it, your contents insurance claim is going to stall, sometimes permanently.

Tracking and recovery of stolen items depends on accurate documentation. Without serial numbers, descriptions, and a recorded report, recovered goods can't be matched back to your property.

Local crime mapping uses these reports to identify patterns. Even if your individual claim is unlikely to result in arrest, the data helps police identify break-in clusters in suburbs across Melbourne.

When the police arrive, let them lead. They'll want to inspect entry points, photograph any visible damage, and ask you a series of questions. Don't tidy up before they arrive. Don't move anything. Even small things matter, including how a window was forced, the direction of broken glass, or whether a back door was unlocked.

Step Three: Document Everything Yourself

Once police have completed their initial inspection and given you the all-clear to move through the property, do your own documentation. This is in addition to anything police have recorded, not in place of it.

Take photographs of:

Every entry point that was used or attempted, including damage to doors, frames, windows, and locks.

Every room, before you start moving things back into place. This becomes important later if you discover additional missing items.

The areas where missing items used to sit. An empty drawer, a bare jewellery box, a TV stand without a TV. Visual context matters.

Any tools, gloves, items of clothing, or other objects left behind by the offender. Police will photograph these too, but a backup record is worth having.

Then start a written list. Not a mental one. Open a notes app, a document, or a piece of paper, and start writing down everything you can identify as missing. This list will grow over the next few days as you notice additional items, and that's normal. Memory works in stages after a shock, and items you didn't initially register will surface later.

For each item, try to capture:

• Description and approximate value
• Date and place of purchase if you remember
• Serial numbers, particularly for electronics, bikes, and tools
• Photographs if you have them on your phone or in cloud storage
• Receipts if you've kept them

This list becomes the foundation of your insurance claim, so the more detail the better.

Step Four: Secure the Property Before Nightfall

Once police have finished and your documentation is underway, the priority shifts to making the property secure again. This is where many homeowners delay too long. A break-in often damages locks, frames, or windows, and a property that was broken into once with a damaged entry point is significantly more attractive to a return visit than one that's been properly secured.

The same offenders sometimes come back, particularly if they noticed valuables they didn't take the first time, or if they think the property has been left unsecured. Even if the original offenders don't return, a damaged door or visibly compromised entry advertises vulnerability to opportunistic intruders.

Call a licensed locksmith as soon as practical. Most will prioritise post break-in callouts where they can. The locksmith will:

Assess every entry point, not just the one used. Often a break-in reveals weaknesses across multiple doors and windows that need addressing.

Replace or rekey compromised locks. If keys were stolen during the break-in, every lock those keys operated needs to be changed or rekeyed immediately. This includes external doors, internal locks if relevant, mailboxes, garages, and shed locks.

Repair damage to doors, frames, and strike plates. A door that was forced open often has internal damage to the frame and strike plate that isn't visible at first glance. Restoring proper alignment and reinforcing the strike plate is part of getting the property genuinely secure again.

Recommend upgrades if relevant. If the existing locks didn't meet Australian Standard AS 4145, or if the entry point used had clear vulnerabilities, this is the moment to address them rather than reinstating the same setup that failed the first time.

If the break-in occurred late in the day and a locksmith can't attend until the following morning, ask about temporary security measures. A licensed locksmith can usually arrange interim solutions, secondary bracing, temporary deadbolts, or other measures that hold the property safely overnight.

Step Five: Notify Your Insurance Provider

Contact your insurance provider as soon as the property is secure. Most home and contents policies require notification within a specified window, often 24 to 72 hours, and the sooner you start the claim process, the smoother it tends to go.

When you call, have ready:

• The police report number
• A summary of what was taken and the approximate total value
• Photographs of damage and stolen item locations
• Details of any locksmith and repair work already arranged

Ask about the claims process specifically:

• What forms or documentation are required
• Whether they need to send an assessor before further work proceeds
• What's covered for emergency repairs and locksmith callouts
• Whether replacement is on a like-for-like or new-for-old basis

Some insurers cover emergency locksmith costs as part of the claim. Others reimburse them separately. Knowing this upfront helps with cash flow during what's usually a stressful week.

Step Six: Address Anything Else That's Been Compromised

A break-in often affects more than just physical possessions. In the days following, work through this checklist:

Stolen identification. If wallets, passports, driver's licences, or important documents were taken, report them to the relevant authorities. Service Victoria handles licence replacement, the Australian Passport Office handles passports. Notify your bank to monitor or freeze accounts, and check whether any government-related fraud alert services are appropriate.

Stolen keys. Beyond house and car keys, think about what else was on the keyring. Office keys, vehicle keys, padlocks, post office boxes, gym lockers. Anything that could be used to access another location or asset needs to be addressed.

Compromised digital security. If laptops, phones, or hard drives were taken, change passwords on key accounts (email, banking, cloud storage) immediately. If any of those devices were logged into accounts and not password-protected, treat the accounts as compromised until proven otherwise.

Stolen vehicles or vehicle keys. If vehicle keys were taken, the locks on the vehicle should be reprogrammed or rekeyed. Insurers usually have specific procedures for this, and some require it as a condition of ongoing comprehensive cover.

Children, housemates, and household routine. A break-in affects everyone in the household. Children in particular often need clear, calm explanations about what happened and what's been done to make the home safe again. Adults often underestimate how much reassurance they themselves benefit from in this period.

Step Seven: Reassess Long-Term Security

Once the immediate situation is resolved, the locks are sorted, the claim is in motion, and routine has returned, take a step back and look at the home's security with fresh eyes. A break-in usually exposes weaknesses that weren't obvious before.

Useful questions to ask:

Were the existing locks adequate, or were they part of the problem? Locks that don't meet Australian Standard AS 4145, or that are clearly worn, are worth upgrading.

Were any entry points genuinely difficult to secure, sliding doors, older windows, garage entries? These often need targeted hardware rather than a generic lock change.

Was lighting around the property adequate? Many break-ins involve property that's poorly lit at night, particularly side and rear access.

Were there visible signs the property was a target, mail piling up, lights that never changed, an obviously unoccupied appearance during recent travel? This is often the case for homes hit during holiday periods.

Is the existing alarm or surveillance setup actually working as intended? Many homes have systems that look the part but haven't been serviced or tested in years.

A licensed locksmith can assess the physical security side of all this. Other professionals can help with alarms, lighting, and surveillance. The point is to use the experience of a break-in to genuinely upgrade the property's defences, not just restore them to the level that already failed once.

A Note on Recovery Beyond the Property

The physical and procedural recovery from a break-in is the side most guides cover. The emotional recovery often gets less attention, and that's a mistake. Many people experience disrupted sleep, anxiety in their own home, hypervigilance, or a lingering sense of unease for weeks or months afterwards. This is a normal response to a genuine violation of a personal space, and it doesn't mean anything is wrong with you. It usually fades with time, but if it doesn't, talking to a GP or counsellor is a sensible step, particularly for households with children.

Restoring physical security helps. So does restoring routine. The home will feel like home again, but it takes time, and it's worth being patient with yourself and others through that period.

Post Break-In Locksmith Services Across Melbourne's Bayside Suburbs

True Locksmith works with homeowners across Brighton, Hampton, Sandringham, Cheltenham, Moorabbin, Bentleigh, Beaumaris, Elwood, Heatherton, Highett, Parkdale, Mordialloc, McKinnon, Mentone, and surrounding suburbs. We attend post break-in jobs across Bayside and Southeast Melbourne, providing prompt assessment, lock replacement and rekeying, repair of damaged hardware, and honest recommendations on upgrades that genuinely improve the property's security.

If your home has been broken into and you need a licensed locksmith on site, call 0421-767-767. For more on our lock change and security services, visit our Change Locks page.