Wandi Nerida

Australia's first residential eating disorder recovery centre

Wandi Nerida is a 13-bed accredited private hospital located on a 25-acre property in the Mooloolah Valley, Sunshine Coast hinterland, on Kabi Kabi Country. Established in 2021 by the Butterfly Foundation, we’re Australia’s first and most established residential treatment centre for eating disorders.

Our name, gifted by the Kabi Kabi people, means “we gather together to blossom.”

We provide residential care in a homelike environment where participants can focus on recovery and establish a healthy relationship with food, body, and self over 60–90 days.

Filling a critical treatment gap

As Australia’s first residential eating disorder facility, Wandi Nerida addresses the significant gap between community or intensive outpatient treatment and acute hospital care.

While we operate as a fully accredited private hospital, our model emphasises intensive psychotherapeutic, holistic, and person-centred support rather than short-term medical stabilisation. The Queensland government subsidises 8 beds, with the remaining 5 beds available for private funding or philanthropic support.

Participants develop practical skills for life beyond treatment in a supportive, homelike setting.

Vision and mission

Our vision: To help make recovery a reality.

Our mission: To provide a therapeutic space to change the experience of those affected by eating disorders by engaging participants and making recovery reality.

Each participant is instrumental in the design of their recovery plan. Our team addresses individual medical, emotional, physical, and nutritional needs. Family members, carers, and significant others are invited to participate in family therapy sessions held each Saturday.

Our values

I.C.A.R.E.

Innovate/Integrity

In everything we do, we challenge our ideas of what is possible, all while maintaining our honesty and principles.

Connect with Compassion

We show up every day as real, vulnerable, and transparent people who speak from the heart, value other’s contributions, and invest in each other’s growth.

Accountable

We welcome honest conversations that challenge when necessary and do not make assumptions – we ask and answer questions and rely on each other to make solutions.

Respect

The trust and respect we have for each other infuses passion into everything we do.

Encouragement & Equality

We believe that greatness comes from unlocking each other’s potential and valuing our differences.

For more information on our values in action, please view our Strategic Plan.

The residence

Our facilities

Our purpose-built facility is set in the natural bushland of the Mooloolah Valley. The building features:

The design maintains a homelike feel while meeting the standards of an accredited private hospital. Multiple outdoor spaces allow participants to utilise the Queensland climate as part of their recovery program.

Therapeutic spaces

Equestrian arena

Our large undercover arena supports equine-assisted therapy, an integral component of our residential eating disorder treatment program.

Permaculture gardens

Participants engage with our permaculture garden as part of nature-based therapy, learning sustainable practices and connecting with the natural environment.

Outdoor therapy areas

The outdoor space adjacent to our Resource/Education Room is used for yoga, movement therapy, and art therapy sessions.

Our approach

Our evidence-based model of care is informed by globally respected residential centres and guided by lived experience.

We recognise that each participant has a healthy core self but has also developed an eating disorder self over time. Our treatment focuses on strengthening the healthy self while addressing the eating disorder.

Treatment outcomes

Independent clinical and economic evaluations demonstrate Wandi Nerida achieves treatment success across mental and physical health measures, with lasting benefits. Research also confirms high carer satisfaction with our impact on recovery.

Many staff members have lived experience of eating disorders, offering both clinical expertise and personal understanding to participants.

Next steps

For potential participants, families, or healthcare professionals making referrals: