Patients speak out after alleged rape, sexual harassment at private rehab

Patients at Hader Clinic Queensland are given a list of the facility's "cardinal rules".No drugs or alcohol. No sex. No entering opposite-sex dormitories. No threatening violence or sexual harassment.But the ABC can reveal the Queensland Police are investigating allegations that a woman was raped at the rehabilitation centre while undergoing treatment earlier this year.The woman's mother, Vanessa Baker*, is one of several family members and patients who have raised safety concerns about the clinic as part of an ABC investigation.Rape reported at rehab facilityVanessa* says her daughter, Claire*, had been struggling with her mental health and substance abuse for years when the Sunshine Coast University Hospital recommended Hader Clinic."She had high hopes. There was going to be a boot camp and so many activities going on," Vanessa said.Vanessa Baker* says her daughter was raped at Hader Clinic in Gympie. (ABC News: Stephen Opie)The program was not cheap, costing around $20,000 for a four-week stay through Claire's private health insurance, but the pair were desperate for help.A week after she was admitted, Vanessa visited her daughter at the facility, but she says Claire was not herself.Two days later, Hader called Vanessa and told her Claire was being discharged and sent to Maleny Hospital as she was emotionally distressed.It wasn't until the next morning, when Vanessa picked up her daughter, that Claire told her she had reported being allegedly raped to Hader staff.Hader told Vanessa her daughter was discharged due to "emotional dysregulation". (ABC News: Stephen Opie)Vanessa says her daughter had requested an STI test but was refused by Hader, which transferred her to the hospital."Hader didn't tell [Maleny] Hospital about [the alleged rape]. I got the forensic testing process started [at Maleny Hospital]," Vanessa said.Vanessa says she later spoke to staff at Hader, who said they had reported the allegation to police but not the hospital."I went in person to make a complaint [to Hader], and they sat me out in the waiting room so everyone could hear my concerns," she said.In an email seen by the ABC, the clinic told Vanessa they considered the matter "closed".Hader Clinic has a 25-bed private hospital in Gympie, Queensland. (Supplied: YouTube)In a response to Vanessa's complaint, Hader said: "It was determined that [Claire's] mental health had deteriorated, and transfer to a more appropriate mental health facility was required to ensure her safety and continuity of care."Hader told Vanessa that her daughter was not denied testing, but it could not be conducted at that time "due to emotional dysregulation."Queensland Police (QPS) is now investigating Claire's allegations that she was raped at Hader Clinic.A QPS spokesperson confirmed the rape was reported to police three days after it allegedly occurred."No charges have been laid, and investigations are ongoing," the spokesperson said.A Hader Clinic Queensland spokesperson told the ABC the service "does not tolerate sexual misconduct, harassment, violence, intimidation, threatening behaviour or other conduct that may compromise the safety or wellbeing of people within our services".The spokesperson said the clinic was limited in what it could say about matters relating to individual patients due to "privacy and confidentiality obligations"."HCQ cooperates with the QPS and other agencies where required," the spokesperson said.Vanessa is calling for improvements to safety procedures at the rehab facility. (ABC News: Stephen Opie)Vanessa says her daughter relapsed almost immediately after leaving the hospital."She's gone deeper into her addiction, which has been very challenging for the family and stressful.""I'm so angry that this place and the systems let her down because now she may, or may not, come out of the addiction."Patient 'felt disturbed and extremely unsafe'Danielle Lister* is among several patients who say they did not feel safe at Hader.She says she was sexually harassed at the facility and also heard allegations that a man had entered women's rooms at night."I've been a victim of sexual assault, and I was really on edge with the bedroom doors not having locks and the male and female quarters neighbouring each other," she said."Females were getting freaked out."Danielle Lister* alleges she was sexually harassed by a patient at Hader Clinic. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)Hader accepts private patients, as well as clients in the court system, who may be on bail or parole or the respondent in a domestic violence order.The clinic operates a 25-bed private hospital and a 40-bed residential rehabilitation service, with the hospital accredited under the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards.A 2026 admission booklet from Hader, seen by the ABC, says some patients may be able to claim costs through private health insurance, WorkCover or Veterans Affairs, while others are self-funded.It says the cost is $22,000 up-front for a 28-night stay in the hospital section without private health insurance.A four-week stay for self-funded patients at its residential facility costs $19,000, an eight-week stay $28,500 and a 12-week stay $36,500, the booklet says.Danielle withdrew from her superannuation to fund her first stay at the rehab. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)Danielle says she withdrew most of her superannuation to fund her stay at the facility.Her private health insurance covered the bulk of her second hospital stay. She says a couple of weeks into her treatment, a new patient entered her group therapy sessions."He noticed me alone in the dining hall and started telling extravagant stories of violence," she said.Danielle says the man started hitting on her, calling her attractive and telling her to let her "hair down once in a while". On one occasion, she says she felt pressured to give him a "quick hug".Danielle says she left the facility as she felt unsafe there. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)Danielle says when she told the man she wanted to go home, he jokingly threatened her."He said 'You better stay. If I see you walking through those front doors, I'll come and grab you by the throat and drag you over here.'""[I'll] throw you in the room and bend you over, smack you on your arse and say, 'Are you finished yet? You can have your tantrum in here.'"Danielle says she reported the incident to staff and asked not to attend group sessions with the man.Despite that request, she says she was required to continue participating in therapy alongside him."The staff member said that deep down inside he's just a scared little boy, and that's what I'll bring out of him when I speak to him," Danielle said.Danielle says that at the clinic, patients cannot lock doors. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)Danielle says the staff member promised to talk to the man and claimed there had already been complaints from others regarding his "violent talk".Not long afterwards, Danielle walked an hour into town and was later discharged from the facility."Everything went to shit. My nervous system was on fire," she told the ABC."It was easier to just break a cardinal rule, such as absconding, and get automatically discharged."I felt disturbed and extremely unsafe."Within days, she says she relapsed.Hader Clinic did not answer questions asked by the ABC about Danielle's case, citing broader privacy concerns.Doors without locks, court-ordered clients nearbyJake Young was a patient at Hader but says he left the clinic six weeks early after being threatened by a client on bail.He says he had befriended a man at the clinic who had raised concerns in a group meeting about hygiene issues, including a court-ordered client serving food without a hairnet."After dinner, the gentleman went to open his door, and there was stuff on it that was the colour of Vegemite. He had a panic attack," he said.A 28-night stay at the hospital, without insurance, costs more than $20,000. (Supplied: YouTube)Jake says he then went on a walk with his friend when he saw the court-ordered client, who did not have a room on their floor.He says, on another occasion, he asked the man why he was there, and the court-ordered client tried to hit him before his friend pulled him back.Jake says he chose to leave the facility halfway through his stay because Hader did not kick the court-ordered client out after he broke the clinic's rules."I was committed to my journey. I still am. I've been sober for 15 months," he said.Jake says there were also other issues with the facility, given the high costs patients pay.Despite Jake's WorkCover paying tens of thousands of dollars for his stay, he says he and other patients were expected to cook and clean.Some patients believe legal clients should be separated from private ones. (Supplied: YouTube)Hader's admission handbook describes patients cooking and cleaning as part of a "therapeutic community approach"."They say there are psych sessions, but I was there (for) weeks and didn't see a psychiatrist once," Jake said.Vanessa* and Jake say patients should have the ability to lock their rooms.They also believe men and women should be further apart, and court-ordered clients should be kept separate.Jake believes it should be clearer that court-ordered clients are attending the facility."I would have questioned attending [if it was clearer]. When we go in there, we are vulnerable."Asked whether Hader Clinic would consider further separating men and women, and private and court-ordered clients, it did not directly respond."HCQ remains committed to providing a safe, respectful and professionally governed treatment environment," a spokesperson said.An unregulated sectorUnlike the public sector, Queensland's private rehabilitation sector is unregulated.Rebecca Lang, the chief executive of the Queensland Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies, of which Hader is a member, says she has been urging the Queensland government to strengthen oversight of the sector for a decade."Essentially anyone can open their doors in Queensland and say they're running a residential rehab, and there is no check or balance on that," she said.QNADA CEO Rebecca Lang says there should be more women-only drug and alcohol rehab services. (ABC News: Elizabeth Pickering)Only 30 per cent to 48 per cent of Australians who would benefit from alcohol and drug treatment can access it, according to 2025 research.Some patients, unable to access public treatment, turn to private facilities and withdraw from their superannuation to cover the cost, as Danielle did.Ms Lang says women entering residential treatment have significant rates of experiencing sexual and domestic violence."There is a really strong case that there should be more women-only services available throughout the state," she said."We currently have fewer than 15 beds available in women-only services, and they're only in Brisbane."She says patients should be able to lock and unlock their own doors, as they do in some of the new mental health units in Queensland's public sector.Ms Lang says sexual violence and harassment should be "entirely preventable" within the service system."It starts with regulation," she said."What I worry about is we know that people are less likely to report experiences of sexual violence because they don't expect there to be an effective response to that."*Names have been changed