(Image: Private Media)

This is the third of three stories in a Crikey investigation into a federal government-funded rehab facility with close ties to Hillsong — and how taxpayers are paying for a deal set up by the Morrison government. Read the first and second here.

How can someone in a fragile psychiatric state and undergoing rehab find themselves thrust into a throng of Hillsong worshippers speaking in tongues as part of taxpayer-funded rehabilitation? 

As Jacob Harrison described it to Crikey, it was a confronting moment in his time at one80TC, the rehab facility with close ties to Hillsong, funded by the Morrison government.

Or — perhaps as bad — how can a patient undergoing treatment at a rehab facility find themselves drafted in as unpaid labour for Hillsong, with the dubious honour of cleaning Uberpastor Brian Houston’s Audi? 

This was part and parcel of a full day where you “worked like a dog”, starting at 6am, according to Harrison, a self-described gay man who says he learnt about Christianity from watching Monty Python.

“In my head it was just so amusing because there was another gay guy there at the time, and we both happened to be working on that one car at the time,” he told Crikey. 

Harrison was one of up to 40 men at any time who were in rehab at one80TC. In most cases 100% of their Centrelink benefits went directly to the facility to pay for treatment.  

Harrison’s experience is a snapshot of the parlous state of affairs in the non-government alcohol and other drugs (AOD) rehab sector.

Crikey revealed an extreme version of that when we reported on the decades-long religion-based abuse of girls and young women at the Pentecostal-linked Esther Foundation in Perth. Practices there included exorcisms to rid girls of the “evil” of homosexuality, as well as removing access to secular books and music. 

In December 2020, the ABC reported on a rehabilitation centre called the Healing House in south-west Sydney where residents were fed “a daily diet of fringe religious teachings and bizarre online videos” as part of a “Christ-centred structured recovery model”. The leader was a born-again Christian who speaks in tongues. Like the others, Healing House was registered as a charity. It too took control of residents’ Centrelink payments for funding.

Disturbingly, the NSW justice system played ball with Healing House. The ABC reported that vulnerable women were sent there by judges and magistrates to complete a rehabilitation program as part of their bail conditions.

The same thing happened at the Esther Foundation, with the juvenile justice system sending young girls into the “care” of an organisation which believed God had the answer. The Western Australian Parliament is about to begin an inquiry into the foundation, including its relationship with the government. 

There is also a history of NSW courts sending young men on probation or parole to one80TC rehab. In contrast to Esther and Healing House, one80TC publicly pays heed to government-backed standards. Yet at the same time it imposed religious practices which, in the case of Harrison, ultimately did his head in.

The ‘who cares?’ factor

The rehab industry says the fundamental problem is that there are not enough alcohol and drug rehabilitation facilities so there is little choice. Faith-based groups have helped fill a gap — with differing results.

Dr Alex Wodak, who has been at the forefront of harm reduction efforts in Australia for decades, says there are no votes in drug and alcohol treatment: “Politicians don’t give a shit about it.” 

This month the industry umbrella group, NADA (network of alcohol and other drugs agencies), sounded the alarm on the neglect of the alcohol and other drugs rehab sector.

“The chronic underfunding of AOD [alcohol and other drugs] treatment has been demonstrated in a number of sector reports, with one study showing that unmet demand may vary between 26% and 48% of all people who will seek and are appropriate for AOD treatment. The situation is now critical, with current demands on funding and staffing unable to be sustained,” it said.

Non-government AOD services faced “multiple barriers” to recruitment and in some cases they had been unable to fill positions, placing additional pressure on existing staff. At the same time organisations were losing their most experienced staff as people retired earlier than planned. 

One80TC confronted its staffing problems as far back as 2017. In a submission to a NSW parliamentary inquiry it said it was taking longer to find the best candidates for positions on offer.

So it seems AOD rehab now faces a similar staffing crisis to aged care and the disability sector: tough work, poorly paid and with no stable career path.

As one industry leader put it ruefully: “We’re just like aged care, but not as sexy.”