The multiple Olympic Gold Medallist was detained by police last week and subsequently went missing on release, prompting a public plea from his father for him to contact family.

He later contacted police to state he was okay and at home.

His father spoke of his son's embarrassment with his older brother stating his parents were at the end of the rope and that Hackett was not the person he used to be.

The 36-year-old this afternoon told media he was grateful for the public support afforded to him in the wake of the meltdown.

“Oh look guys, it’s obviously been a really trying and challenging period,” he said. “The nicest thing I have had is all the support that’s around me, particularly my family, they have been amazing.

“But, also the Australian public. A lot of people tend to understand these sorts of mental issues and things that you go through in life and of course this is something I didn’t want to go through and have to deal with.

“But it’s something I need to deal with now and remedy and remedy permanently.

“It’s going to be a long road ahead and a challenging road ahead and, like I said, I just thank everyone for their support.”