For those at the very pinnacle of wealth in Australia, rehabilitation for addiction can now be found aboard a 16.7-metre superyacht floating through the Whitsundays. The program, called Ocean Blue, offers a week of secluded treatment for $600,000, complete with a gym, spa, and a staff-to-client ratio of 14 to one.
Edward Handley, chief executive of the provider Hills and Ranges Private (Harp), describes it as a product for someone used to such luxury. “They probably hop on our yacht and think it’s a little bit smaller than their yacht,” he says. The vessel, named “Mischief”, is a Bill Dixon-designed Moody 54 cruiser, offering the ultimate in anonymity and decadence for C-suite professionals, elite athletes, politicians and celebrities dealing with issues from cocaine and alcohol dependence to gambling and burnout.
A Booming Private Sector
Ocean Blue represents the most extreme edge of a rapidly expanding private rehab industry, catering to those who can bypass the nation’s strained public system entirely. Harp, which Handley founded with his late wife, psychologist Raya Handley, after his own rehab experience, opened its first clinic in 2020 and now runs five centres. It plans to open facilities in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Auckland within two years.
It is not alone. In Queensland, The Banyans—where a four-week stay is reportedly priced at $120,000—has opened a second facility to meet demand. Similar luxury centres have emerged on the Gold Coast and in Byron Bay. For operators, the value proposition is clear. Harp can arrange a private jet or business-class flight for a client within hours, offering immediate access to programs that include five-star accommodation, concierge services, personal training, equine therapy and a private chef.
Clients, who can continue working discreetly during their stay, often remain for 28, 60 or 90 days, with aftercare support for up to a year. Harp has even begun working with Australian Securities Exchange-listed companies to confidentially offer rehab to senior executives. Edward Handley measures success by completion rates rather than long-term sobriety, with treatment at one facility, the Tudor-style Sassafras mansion in the Dandenong Ranges, accredited by Monash University.
The Public Reality: Waitlists and Desperation
This world stands in stark contrast to the experience of the estimated 500,000 Australians who miss out on addiction treatment each year. Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows there were approximately 146,000 hospitalisations due to alcohol and other drugs in 2023-24. Alcohol remains the biggest killer, causing almost five drug-induced deaths a day.
Nicole Lee from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre says waitlists for public treatment are long, volatile, and not published, forcing desperate individuals to put their names down at multiple places. This has created a “two-tier system in addiction treatment,” she says, where wealth dictates access to faster, more comfortable care.
The story of Matt, a Gold Coast house painter, illustrates the chasm. After becoming addicted to opioids following surgery, he attempted a tapering plan with his GP but suffered severe withdrawals. During one episode, his wife took him to hospital, but he left after a five-hour wait. They contacted five public facilities without success and were rejected by a private clinic because his health insurance lacked hospital cover. He eventually secured outpatient treatment months later. “There are a lot of people out there who do want help,” Matt says. “But they can’t get it because there aren’t many places that can get you in fast enough.”
Dr Hester Wilson, who chairs the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ specific interests addiction medicine network, highlights the financial strain even within non-profit options, citing one case where a family must find $8,000 for a six-month program. She identifies stigma as a major systemic challenge. “As a species, we have used intoxicating substances for millennia,” she says. “And it’s not a bad thing. Not all drug use is bad. But for some people, it does cause them harm… And there is help there, so reach out for it.”
The Unregulated Frontier
The most pressing concern raised by experts is the fundamental lack of oversight governing the private rehab sector. “The biggest problem is that that whole sector is completely unregulated,” Nicole Lee states. “So anybody can go and set up a private rehab.”
This regulatory vacuum has clear consequences. Lee warns that families can be easily “convinced by dodgy providers to mortgage their houses or take out loans” for expensive, potentially ineffective treatment. The recent failures within the sector underscore its volatility. Highlands Recovery in Bowral, New South Wales, closed less than a year after opening amid community backlash; the local Bowral Action Group called for tighter regulation, noting it was not among NSW Health-accredited services. Last year, The Hader Clinic in Geelong went into liquidation with reported tax debts of $3.5 million.
Compounding these worries is the increasing presence of private equity investment in the healthcare sector, a global trend that has seen $446 billion invested over five years. Both providers and healthcare practitioners are concerned this drive for returns could conflict with patient care in an already unregulated space, fuelling calls for strict, mandatory guidelines for practitioners.
Edward Handley, while reluctant to criticise government, expresses frustration with bureaucracy, citing an 18-month delay for a new $50,000-a-week boutique facility. His rationale for the Ocean Blue superyacht was partly to circumvent such hurdles. “There’s just too many fingers in the pie,” he says. “[The authorities are] the ones whinging there’s not enough beds. But they’re the reason why there’s not enough beds.”
Yet, without a robust regulatory framework, the expansion of the private market remains a double-edged sword. It provides immediate, luxurious care for a privileged few while operating in a space where, as Lee notes, “the unregulated system is a problem, even for providers doing the right thing.” For the over two million Australians estimated to be experiencing addiction, the divide between the superyacht and the waiting room has never been wider, or more dangerous.