This paper examines trends in the violent crime rate in Australia, and looks at reasons for the discrepancies between public perception and actual crime rates. The 2003 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes found that over 70 percent of Australians believed that violent crime had increased since 2001. Data on violent crime however, indicated that while rates of assault and sexual assault had increased during that time, rates for robbery had declined and the rate for homicide had been relatively stable since the 1970s. Reasons for the discrepancy between public perception of crime rates and actual recorded crime include problems with the strategies used to measure crime, and comparing results from various data sources which use different base data and different methodologies. Trends in the four major types of violent crime are examined in detail. The analysis found that for homicide, the overall rate has trended down since 1989-1990. For both assault and sexual assault, the analysis found that recorded rates of these crimes have increased since 1995, with assault increasing by 47 percent and sexual assault increasing by 22 percent. For robbery, the analysis found that following an increase from the early 1990s to 2001, the rate for this type of crime has shown a marked decline. Additional analysis is provided on the meaning of the changing trends for violent crime. Figures and references