The Federal Government has announced further changes to its Closing the Gap initiative, which will aim to ensure Indigenous children are attending preschool and kindergarten.

The new target will drive efforts to ensure that 90 per cent of enrolled Indigenous children across the country attend a quality early childhood education program in the year before they start primary school.

“As a result of the Government’s unprecedented investments, our first Closing the Gap target—giving all Indigenous four-year-old children in remote communities access to early childhood education—will be met this year,” Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in a statement earlier this week.

Progress towards the new target will be supported by the National Partnership Agreement on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education, with the Federal Government kicking in $655 million to fund the agreement.

The Prime Minister has written to all states and territories asking them to join the Australian Government in working towards this new target.