The Buttery – Byron Bay
About The Buttery
Founded in 1973, The Buttery is a not-for-profit alcohol and other drug and mental health organisation whose residential therapeutic community sits at Binna Burra in the Byron Bay hinterland, close to Bangalow in northern New South Wales.
The residential programme runs 30 weeks in three stages for adults aged 18 and over who live in NSW, with beds set aside for people on opioid treatment programmes and for MERIT court diversion participants, and privately funded places as well. Around it sit transitional housing for graduates, free family counselling, a day rehabilitation programme for parents, the Nimbin AOD Hub and outreach. Entry follows a phone assessment.
Key Facility Details
- Regulator: NSW Health and the Northern NSW Local Health District, which fund the service; residential AOD services are not licensed under the NSW Private Health Facilities Act 2007.
- Levels of Care: Residential and long-term residential treatment, outpatient services and aftercare.
- Funding: Publicly funded through NSW Health, with privately funded beds and payment assistance also available.
- Languages: English.
- Setting: Rural: a residential therapeutic community at Binna Burra, about 18 km from Byron Bay.
- Location: Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia.
Facility Type
Setting and Surroundings
A rural, low lying setting, 7.3 miles from the coast. The nearest town is Binna Burra (population 216), under a mile away.
Nearest named features
- Stony CreekRiver · 1.8 miles
- Burnett ParkPark · 4.1 miles
- Condong FallsWaterfall · 8.8 miles
- Rocky LakeLake · 10 miles
- Whian Whian State ForestForest · 11 miles
- Peach MountainMountain · 12 miles
Getting there
- Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK)Regional · 9.6 miles
- Gold Coast Airport (OOL)Major international · 37 miles
Setting and distances are calculated from this facility’s coordinates against GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), OurAirports and Natural Earth. Distances are straight line, not driving distance.
The Buttery Detox and Rehab Services
The residential therapeutic community runs for 30 weeks in three stages, making it long-term residential care, and is followed by transitional housing, aftercare and a step down into community support. Outpatient services include free family counselling, a day rehabilitation programme for parents and outreach across the Northern Rivers. Opioid use is the recorded substance focus, and a phone assessment comes before entry.
Residents take part in group and individual counselling, family therapy and a family programme, twelve-step meetings and self-help groups, brief intervention and case management, alongside yoga, meditation, gardening, choir, art and exercise. Medically supervised opioid tapering is recorded, and people continuing prescribed opioid treatment can be admitted. Approaches vary by programme and clinician.
Levels of Care
Substances and Addictions Treated
Counseling and Therapy
Specialized Programs
Where Is The Buttery?
Set at 346 Lismore Road at Binna Burra, the community lies in the hinterland near Bangalow, New South Wales 2479, Australia. Broken Head Beach is 6.3 miles away, Byron Bay itself 8.9 miles, and Mount Jerusalem National Park 15 miles from the property.
The nearest international airport is Gold Coast Airport (OOL) at 37 miles, but Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK) is much closer at 9.6 miles. Airport transfer is not recorded and no public transport is listed. The intake line runs from 9:00am to 4:30pm, so confirm the address and intake hours before travelling.
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How Much Does Treatment at The Buttery Cost?
The Buttery publishes what residents contribute rather than a price: people on Centrelink pay 85 per cent of their benefit towards food and accommodation, and people not on benefits pay a similar weekly amount. That is a benefit-linked contribution, not a private fee. Self-funded private beds exist but no figure is published for them, and family counselling and the CORE Parents day programme are free. Places are publicly funded and open to eligible New South Wales residents after assessment, and payment assistance is recorded.
Ring the intake team for a figure that fits your situation, and ask what the contribution buys, whether medical appointments and medication are charged separately, and how a longer stay is handled.
Payment Options
Medications Offered
Support Services
Assessment and Testing
Key Locations Served Near You
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The Buttery — Compiled From Public Records
This listing is compiled from public directory and licensing sources rather than confirmed firsthand by our editorial team.
The Buttery Reviews
We could not find a Google Business Profile that clearly belongs to the therapeutic community on Lismore Road, so there is no body of public reviews to summarise. Residential services that take referrals through an intake team, rather than walk-in enquiries, often carry little presence of this kind online.
Judge it instead on the funding and service standards it works under, the make-up of its clinical and counselling staff, and the structure of the programme. Ask what the transition looks like when the residential stay ends.
A very strange experience indeed. Was in the buttery for three days . Was surprised after day 2 when there was an exclusive relationship between a man and woman , and all that was spoken about in group was shaming and… making the two people cry , a hell of a lot of back stabbing going on. Another woman almost smashed the boardroom window as she angrily spoke about how she was being ripped off saying she paid for 7 months but was asked to leave at 3 months Day 3 the same thing they kept punishing the same couple . Did not hear any message of recovery . My counseller said that the place is extremely toxic at the moment . Definitely wasn’t the experience I thought I was going into . And there is no qualified therapists just addicts running the place some with very little time clean
No reviews match those filters.
Ratings and reviews from Google, collected 30 October 2026. RehabSeekers does not edit or remove them.
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