The Ballarat Learning Centre (BLC) was established in 1993 by Dr Tony Cree to educate and assist students from the Ballarat district with their literacy skills. Soon after its establishment, Tony resumed his work with the Indigenous Community, having begun it some years before when he worked for a number of mining companies in Western Australia.

While the BLC is relatively small, it does contain a well-equipped office and two other rooms for lectures and tutorials. Tony, along with his local staff and volunteers, see a number of students and their families each week. Over the year the centre would easily interact with more than 300 individuals and their family members. A strong aspect of this interaction are the regular home visits coordinated by Tony and his staff, which have a great impact throughout the year. Not a weekend would pass throughout the year that would not see the team visit between 3 and 6 families in and around Ballarat. It is this work and his commitment to the Indigenous community that has seen Tony being widely recognised as a non-Indigenous leader in the local Aboriginal community.