Courts ordered to scrutinise unregulated rehabs after Herald reporting

Judges will be warned to investigate rehabilitation centres before they allow accused criminals to be released there on bail, after the Herald revealed criminal activity, poor supervision and inadequate health services at one controversial centre run by a pastor.But the government has ruled out regulating the sector, even after the founder of Connect Global, pastor Ross Pene, admitted to providing glowing court references for clients – including television star Andrew O’Keefe – despite failed drug tests.Ross Pene, founder of the Connect Global facility north of Newcastle, admitted to tampering with records, including the urine samples of troubled client and TV star Andrew O’Keefe.Michael HowardThis masthead reported in late 2024 that 15 of Connect Global’s clients had been charged over bail breaches within 12 months, and five had absconded. There were at least two police raids that year on the Swan Bay centre, one by the bikie squad.There were also concerns about the adequacy of treatment and supervision at the centre, particularly access to alcohol and mobile phones in contravention of bail conditions.The Herald’s reports prompted Attorney-General Michael Daley to commission an urgent review into the use of private rehabilitation by those on bail by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.The former Fisherman’s Village tourist resort in Port Stephens was used as a rehab centre by Connect Global.Connect Global did not survive the fallout. It began the slow process of transferring its clients within weeks of the Herald’s revelations. Its founder, Pene, a former Hillsong pastor, was charged with evidence tampering relating to clients’ drug tests.Pene pleaded guilty this week to three counts of evidence tampering to mislead a court.He had passed off urine samples as “negative” to banned substances in letters to the courts when they had, in fact, shown traces of drugs.The letters were endorsements backing the progress made by Connect Global’s clients, including O’Keefe and two other men, while they faced sentence in the courts. Pene will face his own sentencing process in August.DCJ’s report into the relationship between private rehabilitation centres and the justice system was quietly released in March this year.It found centres were unregulated, with limited oversight by NSW Health and no oversight by the justice system itself. Courts have relied on information provided by lawyers for accused criminals when assessing if they’re safe settings for bail.Andrew O’Keefe meeting Pastor Ross Pene as he checks into rehab at Connect Global.“There is no distinct regulatory framework governing the use of private rehabilitation services in the criminal justice system,” the report said.“The fact that there are or may be providers in the system that do not meet these basic standards indicates that there may be a gap in the regulatory and response framework to be addressed.”Despite that, courts released 218 people to Connect Global’s care over the decade until it shut down in 2024. About 83 per cent of those people, 181 in total, had been bailed to the facility since 2021.“Inquiries into the adequacy of a nominated residential rehabilitation facility in bail proceedings are often done ad hoc in the context of time and resource pressure in a busy bail list,” the report noted.Courts could no longer assume that rehabilitation facilities were regulated, or provided services and supervision to any standard, the report said.The report concluded the courts should be forced to receive and consider certain relevant information before bailing a person to a private rehab. The judge would be required to scrutinise the rehabs and consider whether they are appropriate for bail.Connect Global founder pastor Ross Pene at the rehab centre.Nine NewsRehabilitation centres will have to answer questions about whether they provide 24-hour supervision, drug and alcohol prohibitions, monitoring and alerting police to bail breaches, and other strategies to reduce risks posed by accused criminals.The government opted against creating an approved provider list, a blacklist for inadequate centres, or minimum standards. Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. From our partners