Clean Slate Clinic Impact:
Clean Slate Clinic is the largest provider of medicated withdrawal services (detox) in Australia.
They've supported over 2,000 people to date, with an impressive 88% retention rate at three months.
A loan from Sefa has allowed them to continue to grow their service while also offering payment plans to clients, meaning 30 more people a week can access their recovery services.
In Australia, getting help for substance dependence often comes with significant hurdles like geographic isolation, cost, stigma, and a lack of culturally safe care. Too many people struggle to find the vital support they need.
Clean Slate Clinic is directly addressing these challenges. This innovative social enterprise is on a mission to break down barriers to recovery, offering compassionate, effective treatment available to everyone.
Founded with a deep personal understanding of the realities of addiction, Clean Slate Clinic developed a revolutionary virtual model, making medicated withdrawal and recovery support accessible from home, for clients across Australia.
Understanding the real challenges people face
Clean Slate Clinic directly addresses critical barriers to treatment:
Geography: For individuals in rural and remote areas, or those with caring responsibilities, leaving home for treatment is often impossible. Clean Slate Clinic's ‘from home’ virtual model means support can be accessed online.
Stigma: The fear of being seen accessing recovery services and being judged often prevents people from seeking help, particularly in small communities. A virtual service offers anonymity.
Affordability: Traditional treatments can be extremely expensive. Clean Slate Clinic offers an integrated, year-long programme for a fraction of the cost, around $4,000 AUD, around $11 per day – far less than many clients were spending on their addiction.
Culture: Recognising diverse needs, Clean Slate Clinic has co-designed culturally safe pathways with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations and provides gender-affirming care for LGBTQI+ clients. Pia Clinton-Tarestad, Co-Founder and CEO of Clean Slate Clinic shared, “We started with the philosophy that we can actually create an equitable and accessible system that is available to all Australians.”
Measuring true impact and changing lives
Clean Slate Clinic has become the largest provider of medicated withdrawal services in Australia, supporting 50 clients every week. Their impact is profound:
They have supported over 2,000 clients to date, with a goal to help 10,000 Australians to "live the life they choose."
Their retention rate at three months is an impressive 88%.
The relapse rate for retained clients is just 6%, significantly lower than traditional services.
They actively reach underserved communities, with 8% of clients identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and 33% from regional and remote areas.
“I found my first week (detox) was incredibly well supported and structured. I really like the combination of a medical and counselling approach, l was terribly apprehensive at first. From my first contact with Clean State, l felt more at ease and realised l'm not alone and this addiction is definitely going to be in my past.” - Clean Slate Clinic client
How Sefa's support unlocked more access
While Clean Slate Clinic's innovative model delivers low-cost year-long support, upfront costs were a significant challenge. Many clients simply couldn't pay the full $4,000 upfront. This is where Sefa stepped in. Pia explained, “We knew that our pricing was incredibly competitive… but the challenge was that most of our costs occurred in the first few intensive months of treatment, and we needed to pay our doctors, nurses and other staff - but the client was often unable to pay us upfront.”
Sefa's loan provided the crucial working capital that allowed Clean Slate Clinic to expand and offer flexible payment plans, enabling clients to spread the cost over 12 months.
This means with Sefa’s help, an additional 30 clients per week can now access life-changing treatment.
Co-Founder & CEO of Clean Slate Clinic - Pia Clinton-Tarestad
Pia highlighted the broader importance of this support: “I learned the importance of working capital. To grow, you can't actually build stuff without the investment to do it.” She added that for working capital, “debt financing is a great non-dilutive way to do that.”
“[The loan] makes our service accessible for a whole load of Australians who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford it,” explains Pia. Sefa's tailored financial support directly helped Clean Slate Clinic scale its reach and deepen its impact across Australia.
We are incredibly proud to support Clean Slate Clinic on their journey to create a healthier, more equitable Australia, and we're excited to see them continue to grow, with plans now in motion to expand into the UK.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to support organisations like Clean Slate Clinic, where you can see a direct link between the funding and real, life-changing impact.” - Kate Webster, Senior Manager - Social Finance
