Rachel Roach is the assistant director at a local childcare centre, and said a funding boost could see more parents able to return to the workforce, on top of the obvious benefits for child development.

“It would all go back to the families in one way or another,” Ms Roach said.

“We charge for the day but if they were to receive the financial help then I guess families are able to pick up extra days and increase their attendance.

“That too could mean for some families they may be able to pick up more work themselves, or go from part-time work to full-time work.”

It comes after a 2016 Productivity Commission report revealed the NSW government spends the least per child on early childhood education of any state or territory.

The Productivity Commission’s annual Report on Government Services reveals the NSW government spends $202 per child on early learning services, followed by Queensland at $288 and Victoria at $347.

The Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory all spend at least three times more per child, with NT well ahead of the pack at $1133 per child.

In NSW, just 82 per cent of four year olds are enrolled in the minimum 15 hours a week.

"The problem is that NSW families cannot afford [15 hours per week] because fees are too high because the NSW government's own funding of preschools is too low in the first place," the Community Childcare Co-operative’s Diane Lawson said.

"Unless the NSW government invests more money in the first place, NSW children will continue to miss out."

Advocates have said last week's state budget did nothing to change that.

Tracy Howe from the NSW Council of Social Services said while there was much to be positive about in the budget it was disappointing that early intervention initiatives and early learning continued to be overlooked.

"We know too many children in NSW are missing out on the best possible start in life as investment in early childhood education and care fails to reach the most vulnerable,” she said.

“NSW has by far the lowest proportion of children attending early childhood education in the year before school (82 per cent), is the state with the worst performance on the proportion of disadvantaged children in early childhood education (72 per cent), and has the least affordable fees."

The Auditor-General revealed recently that the NSW government has not spent $350 million it budgeted for early childhood education since 2011-12. 

Early childhood minister Leslie Williams said that was because the government had to manage the uncertainties in the receipt of Commonwealth funding under the Universal Access National Partnership, which relies on NSW meeting various benchmarks.

NSW receives around $135 million a year from the Commonwealth for preschool programs. This is contingent on performance benchmarks such as getting 95 per cent of all children into 600 hours, meaning that federal funding is at risk if NSW doesn't lift its game.

Ms Williams defended the government's record. 

"Over the past four years the spend on early childhood education and care by this government has increased by 45 per cent," Ms Williams said.

"In January 2014, funding for community preschools increased by 20 per cent to $150 million per annum ... [and] the government announced an additional $83.5 million in initiatives in November 2015. This investment will help children across NSW to access the lifelong benefits that come from 600 hours of preschool education in the year prior to starting school."