A New Zealand judge has told Phil Rudd he needs to rehabilitate himself from drugs if he wants to return to rock band AC/DC.

Judge Thomas Ingram sentenced the 61-year-old drummer to eight months’ home detention on Thursday, after he earlier admitted charges of threatening to kill and possessing methamphetamine and cannabis.

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Rudd will be electronically monitored at his Tauranga waterside mansion and must also complete a rehabilitation program.

Judge Ingram, at Tauranga District Court, told Rudd there “was nowhere to hide” and he would be jailed if he was found with any traces of drugs or alcohol in his system.

Until Rudd rehabilitated himself from a longstanding meth addiction, a future with the band was unlikely, the judge said.

“You are a man that clearly has rehabilitative needs,” he said.

Phil Rudd arrives at a New Zealand court for sentencing. Photo: Getty

Rudd’s lawyer Craig Tuck argued for a discharge without conviction, saying a conviction would leave Rudd unable to travel to Japan, Canada and the US with the band, resulting in the loss of tens of millions of dollars.

Mr Tuck said Rudd’s actions were the result of methamphetamine psychosis.

But Judge Ingram said Rudd had been discharged twice before, on assault and cannabis charges, and there was no evidence to suggest he was with the band anymore.

The judge was not convinced Rudd’s drumming was integral to the AC/DC sound.

“Queen replaced Freddie Mercury,” Judge Ingram said.

Tauranga online news site SunLive reports court documents say Rudd “lost it” after his solo album failed to take off last August.

Rudd made a call to an associate in Australia and said he wanted a person taken out. He called his associate again and offered $200,000, a motorbike, one of his cars or his house which the associate took as payment for taking out the victim.

On September 26, Rudd called the victim and threatened to kill him.

Police raided Rudd’s home on November 6 and found 0.487g of methamphetamine and 91g of cannabis.

The Crown dropped a charge of attempting to procure murder soon after his arrest.

AC/DC’s global Rock or Bust tour continues without Rudd, with the band confirming Chris Slade will be in the drummer’s seat when it plays in Auckland and Wellington in December.

As he walked out of court to be met by a media throng, Rudd made no comment on the sentence – other than a string of expletives, apparently aimed at one Australian TV journalist, as he got into his waiting limousine.