History

Originally established in 1974 as a federally funded Co-operative Society, Ballarat Community Education Centre (BCEC) provided high quality support services to school communities for the next two decades.

In the early 1990's BCEC expanded its services to provide for the broader community including a new focus on employment services, and in 1996 an employment arm, Ballarat Employment Service and Training (BEST) was also established.

To reflect this change, in January 2000 the organisation was renamed Ballarat Community Development Centre (BCDC).

Over the past decade, general community services developed significantly, along with an increase in staff numbers and annual turnover.

Continued expansion, both geographically and in project delivery, combined with the high community profile achieved by BEST Employment, culminated in a further re-branding of the organisation to become BEST Community Development in July 2002.