Alcohol and Drug Detox at Home program

Your safety is the highest priority, which is why a qualified clinician from Clean Slate Clinic will assess your needs to make sure that home care is suitable for you. Not everyone is a suitable candidate for at-home detox, and the Clean Slate Clinic assessment process will help to determine if this is a clinically appropriate care option for your specific situation.

The program is designed to support people who want to detox from alcohol or other commonly used drugs and stimulants. You can contact Clean Slate Clinic to talk about your specific dependency. A Clean Slate Clinic healthcare practitioner will help to determine if this program is a safe approach based on your situation, usage patterns, and medical history. During your initial consultation, clinicians from Clean Slate Clinic will provide you with detailed information about how they can support you.

Clean Slate Clinic is a telehealth clinical detox service that supports people to safely withdraw from alcohol, drugs, or other stimulants at home. Participants get support from a qualified nurse with experience in alcohol and drug dependencies, who works alongside a GP. Learn more about Clean Slate Clinic. 

If you participate in this program, Clean Slate Clinic will develop a plan tailored to your situation. Clean Slate Clinic’s specialist nurses and GPs will work with you to schedule care around your lifestyle. Some participants may be able to continue to work with minimal disruption, while others may benefit from taking some time off work. Your care coordinator will discuss these considerations with you as they build your plan.

For participants who live alone, Clean Slate Clinic may recommend more frequent check-ins, virtual monitoring, or suggest a trusted friend or family member stay with you throughout certain phases of the detox process.

Medibank funding is available for eligible participants who, for the duration of the program, hold Medibank residential hospital cover that includes unrestricted hospital psychiatric services, and have served any applicable waiting periods (subject to policy terms and conditions). Eligible members⁺ participating in the program will not need to pay an excess towards a hospital admission for this program.

If you drop or downgrade your cover during the course of the program, you may incur additional out-of-pocket costs. 

Note: participants will incur certain other out-of-pocket costs. 

If your Medibank residential hospital cover does not include unrestricted psychiatric services, you may be able to upgrade your cover and use the Mental Health Waiver to access funding for this program. Members with hospital cover who have served a waiting period for restricted hospital psychiatric services on Basic, Bronze or Silver Hospital cover, can choose to upgrade their cover to one with included hospital psychiatric services, and have the 2-month waiting period for those higher benefits on psychiatric services waived. This waiver applies only once per lifetime. To be eligible for the waiver, you need to have held hospital cover without a break of more than 2 months. The waiver only applies to the 2-month waiting period for the higher included benefits for in-hospital psychiatric services and all other applicable waiting periods will continue to apply.

For questions about your cover, you can contact our Customer Health Service Team on 1300 733 338.

Eligible members⁺ with unrestricted cover for hospital psychiatric services participating in Medibank’s Alcohol and Drug Detox at Home program^*, delivered by Clean Slate Clinic, will or might incur out-out-pocket costs for the following:

• Prescription medicines (including PBS-listed medications) and associated pharmacy dispensing fees required during the program 

• Costs associated with complications requiring additional treatment e.g. outpatient medical appointments or hospital readmission 

• Medical or diagnostic tests (separate to those required as part of the preparation and assessment phase prior to the detox period)

• Any maintenance required to the provided breathalyser 

• Compatible smart device and reliable phone and internet connection

If you drop or downgrade your cover during the course of the program, you may incur additional out-of-pocket costs. 

If you’d like to check your suitability or have further questions, please contact Clean Slate Clinic on (02) 3813 8104, Monday to Friday, 9am – 6pm (AEST), or complete their online suitability check.

For questions about your cover, you can contact our Customer Health Service Team on 1300 733 338.

That's okay. You can pause or stop the program at any time. We understand that recovery is a personal journey. If you decide to discontinue the program, your medical practitioner can help ensure you have appropriate resources and support for your next steps.

Please note, the Medibank Alcohol and Drug Detox at Home program is initially a 12-month trial that starts in November 2025. 

Clean Slate Clinic provides the clinical service and collects your health information. Medibank only receives limited details needed to confirm eligibility and fund your participation.

Medibank and Clean Slate Clinic are committed to keeping your information safe. To manage your participation in the Medibank Alcohol and Drug Detox at Home program and your private health insurance policy, only what’s needed for eligibility, funding/claims and care coordination (e.g. with your GP) will be shared between Medibank and Clean Slate Clinics, in line with our privacy policies. You can also view Medibank Privacy Policy and Clean Slate Clinics Privacy Policy for further information. for further information.

Additionally, mandatory reporting to professional bodies may legally apply if your occupation carries the possible risk of harm to the public, if your duties are performed while intoxicated. Clean Slate Clinics will only do this following discussion with you, and where you are unable, or unwilling to complete the report yourself.

To undergo this program, you will need a close friend or family member to support you throughout the detox and to notify your local GP. Generally Clean Slate Clinics does not require participants to inform their employer or anyone else (however mandatory reporting to professional bodies may legally apply if your occupation carries the possible risk of harm to the public, if your duties are performed while intoxicated).