The Sydney Retreat is a 28-day live-in recovery facility, modelled on the highly successful The Retreat in Minnesota, USA. We are not a hospital or medical facility but a peer-led program using Twelve Step Facilitation, the most successful approach to bring about lasting sobriety. After attending our program, 59% of people are still sober after 12 months which far exceeds the low recovery attributed to other rehabilitation centres that apply other types of treatments.

The Sydney Retreat is not a treatment centre. We provide a supportive, educational environment rather than a clinical or medical program. We don’t directly provide assessment or clinical counselling services. What makes us unique is that we use Twelve Step Facilitation – proven to be the most successful approach to bring about lasting recovery. By the time you leave The Sydney Retreat you will have a recovery mentor and will already be starting to use the tools that long-term members of the recovery community have successfully used to change their lives.

We are governed by a healthy board of directors, staffed by an experienced team and have around 150 dedicated volunteers from the recovery community who help us deliver the program. All of us have overcome addiction ourselves and are living full and meaningful lives in recovery – we are uniquely placed to help.

We serve people aged 18 years or over who are struggling with alcohol and/or drug dependency, are motivated to recover and have the physical and psychological stability to perform self-care. All guests are required to complete a free 30 minute pre-registration consultation over the phone with one of our admissions team before being accepted into the program. Call (02) 9171 2920 to start the process.

The length of stay is 28 days.

The Sydney Retreat is a registered charity determined to keep its fees as low as possible whilst covering its costs. The current guest fee is $11,450, which covers all expenses for our 28-day residential recovery program. Guests are not able to use their private health insurance for our program; however, there are partial scholarships available to those who qualify and guests may be eligible to access their superannuation to cover the cost.

Did you know you could be eligible to use your super for mental health and dependency treatment under the Compassionate Release of Super Program?

For more information visit Release My Super or get in touch with our admissions team on (02) 9171 2920 who can help you navigate the process.

Absolutely. One of the core pillars of our program is making sure you are connected to a recovery community to provide ongoing support once your time at The Sydney Retreat is over. Some people may choose to enter our Sober House Program where they gain additional support. 

Yes, your family can visit on Sundays for lunch at 12pm and can stay for the Family Program at 1pm. Children under 18 years are not allowed, however video calls with dependent children can be arranged during your stay.