Sobering-up Centre to Close After Less Than Four Years

The date is Monday, 18 May 2026, at 5:51 am.

Victoria decriminalised public intoxication in 2023 and set up a sobering-up centre in Collingwood.

In short:

A 20-bed sobering-up centre in Melbourne's Collingwood will close in 2027 after operating for a few years.

The facility was set up after Victoria decriminalised public intoxication in 2023.

The legal reforms were triggered by the death of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day in 2017.

Victoria's sobering-up centre in Collingwood will close next year, ending a support service for people found drunk in public.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains names and images of a person who has died.

The Department of Health confirmed the closure and said dedicated centres for Aboriginal people and outreach for the general population would continue.

The 20-bed site run by cohealth has faced criticism for low uptake since it opened in November 2023.

Outreach workers have supported people who are drunk in public by offering water, help to get home, or phoning family.

A redesign of the framework means people who are drunk in public will be taken to local health and community services instead of the Collingwood site.

The department did not explain which services would take responsibility.

If you need help:

A department spokesperson said public intoxication services will continue.

People intoxicated in public will continue to be supported by outreach services.

The centralised service model will evolve, with an emphasis on localised and integrated service delivery.

Work to continue

This month's state budget reduced funding to manage the reform from June 2027 onward.

Dedicated centres for Aboriginal people will continue in St Kilda and regional areas like Shepparton.

Sobering up centres for the general population never opened in the regions.

The state opposition has long cast the centres as a waste of taxpayer money.

Victoria was among the last Australian jurisdictions to abolish the offence.

The government committed to the change after the 2017 death in custody of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day.

Tanya Day's death in 2017 was the impetus for legal reforms.

She hit her head in her cell but police did not notice a lump on her head for three hours.

The organisation responsible for outreach for the general population in Melbourne said the community health organisation would continue to be a provider.

Cohealth is working with government, Aboriginal leadership, staff, and service users to strengthen public intoxication health services.

A health-based response to public intoxication saves lives, improves health and safety outcomes.

Opposition mental health spokeswoman Emma Kealy said it was another example of Labor waste.

The Liberals and Nationals have always said that this money should instead be spent on expanding Victoria's residential rehabilitation services.

The Collingwood sobering centre was not ready in time and opened later in November 2023.

A drunk 34-year-old man in 2024 was hit by a car and killed after cohealth declined to take him to its Collingwood centre.

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