Such an inquiry in Victoria returned its findings in 2018, confirming “poor practices among some privately funded providers”. As reported in today’s story, the state’s Health Complaints Commission found one such centre had opened in a former brothel, with stripper poles and statues of naked women but no treatment programs.
Some models for better practice already exist within the NSW justice system.
The NSW Drug Court demands that rehabilitation facilities operate using an individual treatment plan from Justice Health. It also keeps a list of approved rehabilitation facilities (which Connect Global does not appear on).
It seems inconsistent that other courts – including the state’s highest – are not required to apply the same level of scrutiny.
In the interim, the judiciary also needs to have better oversight of the sector: they should take responsibility for ensuring the treatment being provided when they choose to bail defendants to these facilities is consistent with the rationale for including rehabilitation within the justice system in the first place.
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