The Sanctuary Byron Bay

Assessed 2026-10-01

Headline basis: Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score., LROAS 1.0.0, edition 2026-10-01

Public-evidence total: 44

The sum of the ten criterion scores, from 10 to 100, using evidence anyone can check, including the clinic's own pages as self-declared statements. For the licence element of C2 only, it can also use an authority ruling held in our sealed evidence room. It is the only number used for the rank.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium. ProvisionalA check was still open when the edition closed, for example a register lookup or a video not yet received, or evidence under embargo.: C10.

C1 Client separation and occupancy · 8

The clinic states that each residence is entirely the client's own, with personal support staff, and that all elements of the programme are one-to-one with no groups, which gives single occupancy per residence and no group therapy. Arrival is in an unmarked vehicle and residence addresses are not published. Band 9 also needs published departure separation, a statement of where sessions outside the residence take place and an explicit statement that clients never meet; the aftercare page describes an accompanied return home but no departure separation, so band 8 holds. No capacity figure is used and the clinic's statements on the model do not contradict each other, so no deduction applies.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium

Sources (4 cited items):

• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: Your residence will be entirely your own, with the company of your personal support staff. The clinic describes a range of properties from subtropical beachfront to hinterland homestead, and publishes no residence count.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: All elements of the programme are conducted on a one-to-one basis, with no groups.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: Staff help the client pack, arrange travel and a travel companion, meet the client in an unmarked vehicle on arrival and deliver them discreetly to the private residence. Additional security can be arranged for well-known clients.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: An aftercare support person can accompany the client home at the end of the programme. No departure separation is described.

C2 Clinical governance and medical cover · 5

The team page names a Clinical Director who is a physician providing clinical leadership, a Senior Medical Doctor and a Consultant Psychiatrist, and the detox programme states that doctors and nursing staff are available 24/7 with withdrawal managed in the client's residence, which meets physician cover on call and on-site withdrawal management. No licence or licence category is disclosed on the site, and the NSW Health lists of licensed private health facilities carry no entry for the residences, so the licence element is not met and band 5 is the ceiling. No escalation hospital is named by the clinic and no accreditation is claimed or found on the ACHS register.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high

Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:

• Absence from the NSW register is recorded as a question for the clinic; the regulatory basis for residential detox is not published.
• The published name of the Clinical Director returned no match on the national practitioner register.
• The element reading for this criterion is not published as a list; the band is explained in the reasoning.

Sources (10 cited items):

• health.nsw.gov.au: The NSW Health list of private hospitals, day procedure centres and nursing homes licensed to supply drugs of addiction carries no entry for The Sanctuary, Byron Bay 2481 or postcode 2477.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The team page names a Clinical Director with general practice fellowships providing clinical leadership, a Senior Medical Doctor, a Consultant Psychiatrist and a Registered Nurse.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: During the drug and alcohol detox programme, experienced doctors and nursing staff are stated to be available 24/7, with withdrawal managed in the residence.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The client has a personal doctor and registered nursing staff as required, with further consultations with medical specialists. Complex medical management is stated as not suitable for anyone requiring hospitalisation or in an acute phase.
• ACHS member organisations search (currently accredited, certified or verified): Search of ACHS member organisations search (currently accredited, certified or verified). Scope: register entry for the clinic or its operator (accreditation). Result: no record found.
• CARF International Find a Provider (location search, 500 mi radius): Search of CARF International Find a Provider (location search, 500 mi radius). Scope: register entry for the clinic or its operator (accreditation). Result: no record found.
• Joint Commission International, Find Accredited International Organizations: Search of Joint Commission International, Find Accredited International Organizations. Scope: register entry for the clinic or its operator (accreditation). Result: no record found.
• IAF CertSearch: Search of IAF CertSearch. Scope: register entry for the clinic or its operator (accreditation). Result: source unreachable at time of search: name search rendered no results in the browser and the site loads reCAPTCHA; not pursued further because the clinic makes no ISO claim.
• NSW Health, Licensed private health facilities offering overnight accommodation: Search of NSW Health, Licensed private health facilities offering overnight accommodation. Scope: register entry for the clinic or its operator (licence class). Result: no record found.
• NSW Health, Licensed day only facilities: Search of NSW Health, Licensed day only facilities. Scope: register entry for the clinic or its operator (licence class). Result: no record found.

C3 Diagnostic depth on admission · 5

Three elements are met: a pre-admission telephone assessment with a senior clinician and liaison with current treating practitioners, a doctor's medical assessment and care plan at the residence on day one, and a critical review of prescription medication. Only nurse observations and the doctor's assessment are published for admission, with no laboratory panel, no psychiatrist assessment on admission and no written formulation, so the band stays at 5.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium

Sources (4 cited items):

• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: A formal phone consultation may be scheduled with a senior clinician for a more detailed assessment, and the clinic liaises with current treating practitioners before arrival.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The nurse conducts basic observations on arrival including blood pressure and temperature, and the doctor arrives after lunch to conduct a more thorough medical assessment and establish a clinical care plan.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: Programmes are developed once a full medical assessment has been made, and the clinic critically reviews the use of prescription medication and pharmacotherapies.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The treatment plan is made only once the therapeutic team has thoroughly assessed the client's needs.

C4 Clinical intensity · 5

The published sample day carries one individual psychotherapy session among daily therapies, which meets about-daily individual contact for band 5. No session length or typical daily one-to-one figure is published, so the 1.5 hours a day needed for band 6 is not established. The team of 12 to 15 staff is not stated to serve one client at a time, and no clinician is stated to be resident beyond the nurse's first 12 to 24 hours.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium

Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:

• Session length and daily one-to-one hours are not published.

Sources (4 cited items):

• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The published sample daily schedule runs a walk, yoga or meditation, acupuncture, relaxation, psychotherapy at 1pm and personal training. Daily therapies are offered with a range of qualified, experienced and registered practitioners.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The per-client team typically includes 12 to 15 therapists and personal staff including carers, doctors, nurses, psychotherapists, physiotherapists, massage therapists, yoga teachers and acupuncturists, described as a 24-hour support team.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The nurse stays with the client for as long as necessary, but always at least for the next 12 to 24 hours after arrival.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: Personal carers are part of the treatment team, accompany the client at all times during the intensive stages and usually stay overnight. Nursing staff attend as required.

C5 Continuity and aftercare · 4

Three continuity elements are met: the clinic's own therapists continue by conference call, recovery coaching runs by telephone for as long as the client wants, and the clinic works with referring and local practitioners before and after treatment. No written discharge plan, defined duration, price or fee inclusion, medication follow-up or readmission policy is published, which keeps the criterion at band 4.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium

Sources (4 cited items):

• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: Recovery coaching runs by telephone for as long or as short a time as the client requires, with regular conference calls with the clinic's therapists and referrals to practitioners in the client's local area.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The clinic states it works collaboratively with referring practitioners to ensure consistency and continuity before and after treatment.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The clinic may discuss and assess any need for aftercare following the client's return home.
• thesanctuaryworld.com: The group site lists remote multidisciplinary case reviews and online psychological programmes among its services.

C6 Admission integrity and commercial conduct · 4

A sweep of seven clinic and group domains found no ranking page, no sponsored content, no press wall or award presented as accreditation and no text addressed to AI systems; wording seen on third-party directories is not on a domain the clinic controls. No positive signal is published: prices are on request only, the referrals page says nothing about referral fees, and the offer to refer elsewhere is not stated as a policy on declining unsuitable admissions. A clean sweep with no positive signal gives band 4.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: low

Sources (5 cited items):

• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: No price, awards, press logos, rankings or text addressed to AI assistants appears on the clinic's home page or treatment pages.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: If the client decides the clinic is not suitable it will endeavour to refer them elsewhere, and the client is under no obligation to proceed. Neither is stated as a policy on declining unsuitable admissions.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The referrals page welcomes genuine referrals and clinical enquiries and says nothing about referral fees.
• thesanctuaryworld.com: The group locations page and the sister-brand sites carry no rankings, awards, press logos or text addressed to AI assistants.
• clinic and group domains, web search: Search of clinic and group domains, web search. Scope: domains checked sanctuarybb.com (homepage, about, our-team, byron-bay, seeking-treatment, admission, accommodation, your-unique-program, aftercare, treatment-conditions, treatment-therapies, treatment-referrals, contact, privacy policy PDF), thesanctuaryworld.com (homepage, about.... Result: sweep recorded; outcome per the C6 V elements.

C7 Transparency toward the client · 2

Two elements are met: a privacy complaints route to the national information regulator and a statement of clinical limits. No price, fee inclusions, payment, refund or early-departure terms, ownership detail beyond the parent name, licence reference or records retention period is published, and no care complaints route naming the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission is given. Two elements give band 3, less 1 point because the privacy policy names Byron Luxury Healthcare Pty Ltd with ACN 621 461 563, which the Australian Business Register shows is not a valid ACN; the entity with the similar number has a cancelled ABN and the business name is registered to another company. The result is band 2.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high

Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:

• Which legal entity currently operates the clinic is not established from public records.
• The element reading for this criterion is not published as a list; the band is explained in the reasoning.

Sources (5 cited items):

• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The privacy policy names Byron Luxury Healthcare Pty Ltd, ACN 621 461 563, trading as The Sanctuary Byron Bay, effective from June 2019, with privacy complaints escalating to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. No retention period is stated.
• abr.business.gov.au: On the Australian Business Register, ACN 621 461 563 is not a valid ACN.
• abr.business.gov.au: Byron Luxury Healthcare Pty Ltd holds ABN 64 622 461 563, ACN 622 461 563, cancelled from 10 January 2024.
• abr.business.gov.au: The business name The Sanctuary Byron Bay is registered from 25 October 2023 to The Sanctuary Licensing IP Pty Ltd, ACN 662 383 075, active from 12 September 2022.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The contact page footer carries a copyright line for The Sanctuary World Pty Ltd with no registration number, address, terms or complaints procedure for care.

C8 Track record and regulator standing · 5

A court and regulator search found no final finding, judgment, licence action or regulator decision against any Sanctuary entity within 10 years, and no pending allegation. No inspection regime applies on the record, the only independent review found is unbylined, from 2015 and not based on a first-hand visit, and no verifiable independent client testimony was established. This is the not-published band 5.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high

Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:

• Because the operating entity is not settled, the search may not cover every entity that has run the clinic.

Sources (11 cited items):

• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The About page states the clinic was established in 2004.
• abr.business.gov.au: The Australian Business Register records Byron Luxury Healthcare Pty Ltd, ABN 64 622 461 563, as cancelled from 10 January 2024.
• abr.business.gov.au: The Sanctuary World Pty Ltd, ABN 13 655 538 159, has been active since 23 November 2021 with no business names listed on its record.
• thefix.com: The only independent review located carries no byline, was compiled from alumni surveys and desk research rather than a first-hand visit, and was published on 19 May 2015.
• NSW Health, Licensed private health facilities offering overnight accommodation: Search of NSW Health, Licensed private health facilities offering overnight accommodation. Scope: register entry for the clinic or its operator (last inspection). Result: no record found.
• ACHS member organisations search (currently accredited, certified or verified): Search of ACHS member organisations search (currently accredited, certified or verified). Scope: register entry for the clinic or its operator (last inspection). Result: no record found.
• general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "The Sanctuary Byron Bay" OR "Sanctuary World" court OR tribunal OR fine OR regulator. Result: no record found.
• general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "Byron Luxury Healthcare" OR "The Sanctuary Byron Bay Pty Ltd" tribunal OR court OR decision. Result: no record found.
• CourtListener RECAP: Search of CourtListener RECAP. Scope: "Sanctuary World" OR "Byron Luxury Healthcare" OR "Sanctuary Byron Bay". Result: no record found.
• press and news search: Search of press and news search. Scope: first-hand bylined reporting from inside the facility, last 5 years. Result: no record found.
• statutory regulator records: Search of statutory regulator records. Scope: inspection history and grades of this site. Result: no record found.

C9 Environment, safety and nutrition · 5

Environment and safety meets three elements, band 4: the clinic's own photographs show pools, decks and grounds, arrival staff roles including a registered nurse are named, and family may take part in parts of the programme. No dedicated therapy room or independent evidence of the premises is published, and the Byron Bay page is built from stock images. A 24-hour emergency department at Byron Central Hospital is 10 minutes by road from the town centre, but residences are unaddressed, so emergency access is not met at every place of care. Nutrition meets three elements with a personal chef cooking to the treatment plan and dietitian assessment described, capped at 5 without a named nutrition professional. The mean of 4 and 5 rounds half up to 5.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium

Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:

• Residence addresses are not published, so emergency access cannot be computed per residence.

Sources (6 cited items):

• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: Photographs of the residences on the accommodation page show pools, decks, lawns and outdoor areas, and the residence is entirely the client's own.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: Arrival is met by the Client Services liaison, the on-duty registered nurse and the client's own personal chef, with additional security available on request.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: Dietitians assess a client's nutritional needs and tailor a diet with planning around monitoring and ongoing evaluation. The personal chef prepares meals according to the treatment plan, accommodating allergies and preferences, and can teach meal preparation.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: Family or significant others are invited to take part in some aspects of the programme where therapeutically beneficial, and the client has their own personal chef.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The Byron Bay page is built from 19 image files named as commercial stock library assets, and states no hospital or travel time. No dietitian or nutritionist is named on the team page.
• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: Place of care named as: Leased private residences, Byron Bay and surrounding area, New South Wales (addresses not published)

C10 Clinical seniority and academic standing · 1

The team page lists 24 named people with stated credentials and no registration numbers. Three credentials are confirmed on the Ahpra register: the site Director as a psychologist with general registration, and the Senior Medical Doctor and Consultant Psychiatrist as medical practitioners with no specialist registration shown. The published name of the Clinical Director returned no register match. No gate is met and the credential index falls in the band 1 range.

ProvisionalA check was still open when the edition closed, for example a register lookup or a video not yet received, or evidence under embargo.: Clinician register lookups for this criterion were still open at the edition cut-off (see known_gaps). The points count as assessed on the evidence available; the band may change when the lookups are completed, which is resolved in a later edition.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium

Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:

• Five register lookups were not complete at publication; the C10 band may change when they are completed.
• An archived team page names a Director of Psychiatric Services not on the live roster captured on 15 September 2026; no register lookup was made for that clinician.

Sources (5 cited items):

• The Sanctuary Byron Bay: The team page lists 24 named people in one list, with stated credentials and no registration numbers, and links to no faculty directory or board verification page.
• ahpra.gov.au: National practitioner register lookup on 16 September 2026 confirmed the site Director as a psychologist with general registration.
• ahpra.gov.au: National practitioner register lookups on 16 September 2026 confirmed the Senior Medical Doctor and the Consultant Psychiatrist as medical practitioners. Neither specialist registration was shown in the result list.
• ahpra.gov.au: The name published for the Clinical Director returned no match on the national practitioner register on 16 September 2026.
• health.nsw.gov.au: NSW Health lists of licensed private health facilities, overnight and day only, current as at 14 September 2026, carry no entry for The Sanctuary, Byron Luxury Healthcare, Byron Bay or postcodes 2481 and 2477.