The long waiting lists to get into a public residential rehab in Victoria are forcing parents to spend thousands a week on private help.

Vic Vella's son's ice addiction has led him to launch a Change.org petition calling on the state and federal governments to provide more residential rehab units, and has attracted almost 100 signatures.

He is spending $20,000 of his retirement funds to send his son to one in Thailand.

He has also cashed in his superannuation and mortgaged his house in Phillip Island, going $155,000 into debt so he can move to Werribee - to get his son away from his drug dealers.

"I have spent my whole life saving for retirement," he wrote on the petition website. "Now I am being forced to use these funds in an attempt to save my son's life."

Mr Vella's 34-year-old son's ice use has brought on aggression, psychosis and depression, leading to four suicide attempts. He tells his father he desperately wants to stop, but can't.

Mr Vella said trying to find help for his son in the public system was "soul destroying".

"I don't know how many times I've broken down crying, thinking I'm going to lose my son," he said.

Mr Vella believes he has a "window of opportunity" to save him. So, when a social worker from a public treatment centre suggested he turn to the private system, he did.

"If he keeps taking it, he could be dead in six months and that is my biggest fear," he said.

Former ice addict Travis Barugh said his mother spent $15,000 of her super to contribute to the cost of his $45,000 stay at the Raymond Hader Clinic in Geelong.

"I couldn't wait. I was at a stage where I was looking for a rehab where I wanted to kill myself," he said. "I'm lucky that my parents loved and cared enough for me."

Drug and alcohol counsellor Stuart Fenton said he had heard of parents mortgaging their homes and others who had ended up broke in old age. "A parent will do anything to save their child," he said. "It doesn't surprise me that parents are accessing their super to save their son or daughter."

Mr Fenton said the option of cashing in super to pay for rehab was widely discussed among his clients, some of whom had spent their own.

A woman, who did not want to be named, said about half of the people at the private rehab she attended, including herself, had spent their own super. She said it was routine for the rehab to facilitate the practice.

The Victorian government is spending $18 million on drug services over four years as part of its ice action plan, but none of this is for residential treatment.

Meanwhile, the federal government has slashed funding to the drug and alcohol treatment sector.

Mr Vella said: "I just wonder how many other parents are going through what I'm going through." Mr Vella said. "Mr Abbott, please help us to help our kids."