Odyssey House near Benalla had to wait until the last hour to secure $1.2 million of federal funding for one of its key treatment programs.

The money announced in March will pay for Odyssey’s six-week Circuit Breaker Program for 2015-16.

But beyond that remained a big unknown, impacting greatly on Odyssey’s ability to carry out the comprehensive planning it said was essential to provide its treatment programs.

The Circuit Breaker live-in rehabilitation program is considered a key part of the Border region's fight against the methamphetamine "ice" crisis.

It also helps people deal with the impact of addictions to other drugs and alcohol.

Odyssey chief executive Stefan Gruenert said on Wednesday that the 12-month funding round was “probably a bit unusual”.

Dr Gruenert said the best way to properly service the community was a program supported for three to five years.

“But we appreciate this 12 months is really a holding pattern while the Commonwealth reviews a report that they’ve received about their investment and role in funding that treatment,” he said.

Dr Gruenert said the North East had “significant, ongoing” demand for treatment programs, having previously pointed to the fact there were  “a lot of desperate people” waiting for residential rehabilitation.

“We await the outcomes of the national taskforce around ice and the government’s response to the report,” he said.

“But clearly we believe there’s an ongoing need for such a facility in the north-east part of Victoria.

“In fact, we believe there’s probably a need for more of those type of facilities around the country.”

In the meantime, Odyssey will continue to advocate for its clients in the North East.

“We’ll speak to government and ministers about that need to try to secure long-term funding,” Dr Gruenert said.

The funding uncertainty led to Odyssey House deciding earlier this year to briefly stop accepting referrals for Circuit Breaker.

Assistant Minister for Health Fiona Nash said previously that about 160 organisations had their funding extended for the extra 12 months.

Senator Nash said $87 million in funding had been allocated in 2015-16 .