Dubbo MP Dugald Saunders stated he was confident a site could be confirmed in the near future while defending the ongoing delay around the centre.

In November of 2020, Mr Saunders stood outside his Dubbo office alongside then treasurer and now premier Dominic Perrottet and then deputy premier John Barilaro to announce $7.5 million would be allocated for a 15-bed drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility, and an eight-bed withdrawal and detox facility.

A location for the site remains unconfirmed more than two years later, leading to plenty of criticism directed towards Mr Saunders and the state government from the opposition and health and rehab advocates.

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Councillor and Labor candidate for the seat of Dubbo in the upcoming NSW election, Josh Black, has previously labelled the delay "an absolute disgrace".

Mr Saunders said he was happy for people "to throw rocks at me from the sideline" as he again insisted it was better to wait and get things right, than rush and make the mistakes like other centres in the state have.

The search for land has been an ongoing one, with four parcels of land first put forward in 2018 as proposed sites being either unsuitable or made unavailable.

Mr Saunders spoke of the challenge of finding the right location, given the needs of those who will be using the centre, and said it's something that can not be decided on a whim.

"I think it needs to be not too far away from things. I think the perception in the past has been rehab facility is housing criminals. This is a health facility and I really want to reiterate that," Mr Saunders said.

"This is all about health outcomes, including mental health, and you need people to be part of the community and that's what works so well with the ones that work."

He pointed to The Glen, a Central Coast drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre that has also been a part of Dubbo consultations, as a successful model that has been looked at.

"They like being close to residential areas and do lots as part of the community," Mr Saunders said.

"Fundraisers, clean-up days and all sorts of things because they're a part of the community.

"It's really important and people need to realise this is a health facility helping people get their lives back together. You can't do it in isolation and you need to be with the community.

"It needs to be somewhere not too far away but isn't seen or pointed at by people saying 'that's where the rehab is'. It needs to be in a situation where it can be discreet but also welcoming and also part of a community so that is something hard to find.

"I'm really hopeful and confident the community will embrace what this can be for the entire region."

It's also been confirmed the rehabilitation centre will also help people with life skills to boost their chances of entering the housing and rental market and gain employment.

Wellington-based rehabilitation advocate Jeff Amatto was one of many to call for a cultural aspect to the centre while Mr Saunders said conversations with those from The Glen helped him and the health team understand the needs of those who will use the centre.

"Some people haven't paid a power bill or water bill or phone bill. They're soft skills some people don't have because they've been living rough or homeless for 10 or 15 years," Mr Saunders said.

"There's a few stages of rehab. There's detox and ... the rehab part of it is getting back into a social setting, working on some of the things they want to achieve and maybe some training opportunities. Then there is soft skills like paying bills, buying groceries, doing washing, getting up and getting ready for a job and doing that and coming home and packing a lunch.

"All of that is the sort of stuff included in a rehab program and my hope is that there will be the ability, when someone has finished their normally eight to 12 weeks of rehab, they might be able to stay for a longer period to actually be looking for that job before they get into the rental market or whatever it is.

"That's something I've spoken about since day one. There has to be a support system there so we don't see that person back because they've failed. We want to get them a job and have the ability to go and live and be part of the community."

With a block now found, Mr Saunders was hopeful Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) was running all due diligence ahead of a possible announcement.

He also pointed to the fact the health district was under such immense pressure during the COVID pandemic as another reason for the delay in finding a location and starting construction.

"It (delay) is an unexpected consequence of, unfortunately, two years of COVID when the entire health workforce was focused on keeping people alive, let's be honest," he said.

"The rehab facility is a health facility. It's not run by me, a politician, it's run by the health service. The health service is designing how it needs to run and they were off for two years because of COVID.

"When COVID got back to a level that was manageable again, and that was a fairly blurry line, but as quickly as we could get the team back onto it, I did.

"We're behind where I'd like to be but you need to get things right when it comes to a rehab facility."

The delay has led to claims from many, including Mr Amatto, to say not only are those addicted to drugs and alcohol affected, but also family members who are watching loved ones suffer.

"They need to stop thinking it's a political game, or a game of monopoly, and start realising that people's lives are at risk, families are losing loved ones," Mr Amatto told the Daily Liberal earlier this month.

"I understand there's some angst from the community around why it's taken so long," Mr Saunders replied.

"I honestly can't fix it. I want to fix it as soon as we can but it needs to be done in the right way.

"In the mean time there is still help there, it's not like there's no help. I want people talking to drug and alcohol team in Dubbo or wherever their nearest one is to get the help they need now and get it in community. We need to do everything we can in the meantime and that's what we're doing."

The specialised drug court, another initiative planned to help ease addiction and crime in the region, is another project which has been delayed.

It will now be opened on February 20.

"A bit later than expected," Mr Saunders said.

"There's judicial implications and health implications and there had to be a health work force employed to back-up what the drug court is providing.

"It was delayed because of trying to find the health workforce to back it up. You can't start up a drug court without the back end working and that's why it was delayed by probably a couple of months.

"I was hoping it was running late last year but now it's February 20. But again, I'd rather it be done right rather than open it without being able to do the back-end work."

On the rehab centre, Mr Saunders said it was difficult to put set a time-frame around construction and an opening date but he added he was hopeful the next part of the process could be done quickly given the wait up until now.

"It would be a bit of a process but as much as possible, I'd be looking to get that fast-tracked given we've had a process to get to this point and hopefully it wouldn't take too much longer," he said.

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