PRESCHOOL providers said changes to NSW government policy had left some children without access to valuable funding.
Community preschools no longer receive funding for three-year-olds unless they are from low-income families or are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders.
The change came into force last year. A new model was created to encourage preschools to ensure all children had access to preschool education in the year before they start school, instead of two years.
But it means families have to pay more — the amount depending on the preschool — to send their three-year-old to a community preschool.
Early childhood educators said this left providers with more vacancies for this age group because not all parents could afford the fee.
St Mark's Preschool at Brighton-Le-Sands charges $45 a day for four-year-olds; $48 for three-year-olds.
Its director, Helen Meimaroglou, said the cost of preschool had become "inequitable".
"We should charge more for three-year-olds to keep ourselves financially viable but we have no children [in that age bracket] so we bring the price down to make it affordable for families, but how long can we go on for?" Ms Meimaroglou said.
She said parents valued longer-term preschool education.
"We have been operating for 40 years and we would like this to continue but without the financial support from the state government it is harder to do.
"Our service will receive less funds because we haven't been able to fill all our positions."
The government said the age-based eligibility criteria was introduced because NSW was the only jurisdiction in Australia where funding was not targeted to the children who needed it the most based on age.
It stated that under the National Partnership on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education, funding must be in line with the 2021 target that all children in the year prior to school have access to early childhood education.
Louise Murfet, the director of Jacaranda Preschool at Caringbah, said families were reluctant to enrol children for one year.
"Children need time to build on social and emotional skills," she said.
"This isn't about teaching children how to write, but how to ask for things, learn to trust people, and feel like they belong.
"It's discrimination because many three-year-olds are ready for preschool," Mrs Murfet said.
"Some parents want one year of preschool for their child but I've offered places to all three-year-olds on my waiting list, but it's $10 extra a day for them."