Woorabinda, a remote Indigenous community located south-west of Rockhampton with a population of approximately 1,000 residents, has seen the closure of its sole residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility. The Mimosa Creek Healing Centre, a vital service in the community for 14 years, ceased operations following a decision by the Woorabinda Aboriginal Shire Council to terminate its lease.

Opened in 2012, the centre was managed by the not-for-profit organisation Central Queensland Indigenous Development (CQID). It provided essential residential rehabilitation programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men grappling with substance abuse, alongside offering a range of other community support services.

The council's decision, made during a trustee meeting in March, came after a tied vote. Minutes from that meeting reveal that the termination was driven by significant community sentiment, which expressed “genuine concern” regarding the service. Key among these concerns was the perception that the centre, as it was being delivered, was not culturally appropriate for Aboriginal men. This, residents felt, hindered men in the community from effectively accessing much-needed support for alcohol and drug-related difficulties.

Furthermore, the council noted that the outcomes achieved by the service did not align with expected improvements. There were widespread community concerns that participants were frequently cycling through the program without achieving sustained recovery or meaningful rehabilitation outcomes.

However, CQID Chief Executive Jason Field stated that details of these specific concerns, beyond what was publicly available in the council minutes, had not been directly communicated to the organisation. Mr. Field explained that CQID had successfully secured future government funding to ensure the centre's continued operations, yet they were instructed by the council to vacate the premises by July 8.

In an effort to appeal the decision, CQID reportedly requested two meetings with the council and sent four letters, “pleading for the decision to be reviewed or overturned.” According to Mr. Field, these requests were disregarded.

While the Mimosa Creek Healing Centre’s residential rehabilitation capacity is now lost, CQID has managed to secure another location within Woorabinda to continue its other crucial programs. These include general drug and alcohol services, family support, youth support, and foster and kinship care services. However, the new site is not equipped to offer residential rehabilitation, leaving a significant gap in local support infrastructure. There is currently no set opening date for this new facility, and the future plans for the Mimosa Creek Healing Centre building remain unknown.

This closure comes at a particularly sensitive time for Woorabinda. Last year, the council adopted a new five-year Community Safety Plan, which included a contentious proposal to gradually reintroduce alcohol into the community after a 17-year prohibition. The plan explicitly highlighted the necessity of integrating “counselling, rehabilitation, and harm-reduction programs” into its strategy to effectively address the underlying causes of alcohol misuse. It remains unclear if any existing alcohol restrictions have been eased since the plan's adoption, adding to the community's complex challenges.