The Indigenous Boarding Hostels Partnerships program will provide Indigenous secondary school students from remote areas the opportunity to live at boarding facilities in major regional centres in order to access educational opportunities not otherwise available to them. The boarding facilities will provide safe environments that support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to fulfil their educational and personal potential.
The program was announced as part of A Better Future for Indigenous Australians – opportunities for education funding package in the 2007-08 Budget.
The Australian Government provided $3 million for an expansion of the Wiltja facility in Northgate, South Australia as part of the Minister’s announcement in May 2008 Protecting Children on the APY Lands.
The Wiltja facility provides boarding for secondary students from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands who are studying at the Woodville High School. This initiative increased safe student accommodation at Wiltja to 105 places in total.
The Wiltja Residential Program is part of the Australian Government's commitment to providing quality education opportunities for Indigenous students, and closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students' education outcomes. The expansion of the Wiltja Residential Program was opened in June 2010.
The Western Cape Residential Campus (previously known as the Weipa Boarding Hostel) will be a 120-bed facility to assist Indigenous children from remote and isolated communities in Far North Queensland to attend the state-run Western Cape College at Weipa, Queensland. The facility is expected to be completed for occupancy in 2012.