The first flexible learning centre was established in 1986 at Kingston in the western suburbs of Brisbane.  It was a response by the Christian Brothers to the needs of youth in an area characterised by poverty, unemployment and a high level of disengagement from education. 

Named the Centre Education Programme, it offered young people an opportunity to reconnect with education in  a setting that was non-judgemental, inclusive and flexible in the way it engaged them in their learning Several more flexible learning centres developed, each a registered school, and they, along with all the other schools operated by the Christian Brothers, came under the leadership of Edmund Rice Education Australia in 2007.  In 2010, there were six flexible schools, EREA has continued its committed to this form of education and in 2020 the number of flexible learning centres has grown from six to twenty-two, with schools in every state and territory except the ACT.