Residential rehabilitation facility part of new health precinct to be built in Watson

The facility will be part of a broader health precinct which will also include a youth mental health service, run by Marymead CatholicCare, and a youth rehabilitation service run by the Ted Noffs Foundation.

The rehabilitation facility will be run by Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services and will be a 24-bed facility.

The government will spend $49 million over the next three years on the redevelopment of the site.

A development application has been lodged and the authority is seeking public feedback on the health precinct's plans.

The site is currently home to a health facility, which already includes the Ted Noffs Foundation. This will be demolished to make way for the buildings.

There will be two separate developments in the precinct, including a two-storey building for the rehabilitation facility and four one- and two-storey buildings for the rest of the precinct.

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Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the facilities would offer a "welcoming and inclusive environment" that would help encourage positive outcomes for young Canberrans.

"Alcohol and other drug dependence causes significant harm to individuals, families and communities, with a disproportionate impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples," she said.

"The establishment of a residential facility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans, to be run by Winnunga Nimmityjah, will promote rehabilitation and recovery in a culturally safe and inclusive environment.

"We are also improving drug rehabilitation and mental health treatment options for young Canberrans with new facilities operated by Ted Noffs Foundation and Marymead CatholicCare."

Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services chief executive Julie Tongs said the government had granted funding to the organisation for the design development of the facility.

"The new facility will offer a holistic therapeutic program, helping to rehabilitate those struggling with addiction and to assist them to transition back into the wider community and a place for healing, supported by culturally sensitive indoor spaces, landscaped areas and shared places for recreation," she said.

Ted Noffs Foundation national programs manager Lachlan Dean said the foundation had worked closely with the government to ensure the buildings allowed for the best possible treatment for the young people they work with.

"Detoxing and undergoing a rehabilitation episode at such a young age requires a very specific treatment intervention, and these new facilities will strengthen the current treatment programs on offer. Being able to continue to work on the site we have been on for the last 23 years allows us to stay connected to this community," he said.

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