The Morrison government is coupling $1.6 billion in preschool funding with new attendance targets.

The government announced this week that the money would be spent over four years to “support continued universal access to at least 15 hours of preschool each week (600 hours per year) for children in the year before they start school”.

Reform advocates had been pushing for a focus on improving preschool enrolments among three-year-olds too, as Australia lags the OECD average on this measure.

While the government says it wants as many four-year-olds enrolled as possible, it has tied the funding to the condition that the states and territories agree to a “robust reform timeline” that increases participation and school readiness.

From 2023, those conditions require that every child enrolled in an approved preschool program “will see the full benefit of commonwealth funding (around $1,340 per child in 2022) regardless of the preschool setting”.

From 2024, the payments to states and territories will be inextricably linked to attendance targets.

The government has also put aside $34 million over the next five years to investigate ways to improve preschool-related data collection. It says it wants to be able to test “the degree to which preschools achieve the outcome of getting children school-ready”, among other factors.

The federal government also re-announced an extra $1.7 billion in spending on childcare, which it first unveiled at the beginning of May.

“This will increase the affordability of childcare for low- and middle-income families,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.

Up to 250,000 families will “be better off by an average of $2,200 each year” giving more parents the choice to take on extra work.

“Preschool is a vital time in a child’s development and prepares them for the educational journey ahead,” Mr rydenberg said in his budget speech on Tuesday evening.

“Participation of four-year olds in ECEC in Australia is significantly lower than in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Norway.”