On Thursday the NSW and Victorian premiers announced joint proposals to introduce the optional year of pre-kindergarten to all children by 2030, at a cost of $5.8 billion.

The programs aim to address growing concerns about the affordability and availability of preschool services - which are particularly pronounced in regional centres.

However, according to employees on the industry's frontline, the latest strategy fails to directly address the root cause of scarcity: Long hours, low pay, and stressful working conditions.

In Orange there are more than 20 facilities providing early-education, however a lack of staff means many are unable to open every day and wait-lists can stretch years.

Describing the current situation as "almost crisis point," Orange Preschool director Sonya Murphy said more funding for parents won't help if suppliers don't have capacity to expand with demand:

"The message is they're putting out more services ... but it's not looking at what they can do to support the industry to provide that.

"We don't have the same type of services out here [in Orange], and we're trying our hardest but can't pull extra places out of our hat."

Ms Murphy estimated more than 10 per cent of staff in Orange leave to pursue other professions, due to unrelenting work conditions.

"People burn out really quickly ... saying 'this isn't the industry i thought it was going to be, I can't work here anymore'," Ms Murphy said.

"We've heard [pay rises are coming] for a long time - it's been put out there because the sector is undervalued, but it just hasn't come."

Other early education providers in Orange reported similar trends among their workforce, when canvassed by this masthead.

Teacher Jess McGrath said no meaningful consultation with regional education providers was sought prior to the announcement: "They've monumentally missed the issues that are happening."

Both early-learning professionals expressed a desire to see more support at the supply end of the equation.

"They [should] be looking at how to support the front line staff that run these services - they were quite happy to consider us essential services during COVID," Ms McGrath said.

"Looking at our value, our recognition, and our pay - We've got to keep the staff to have the children enrolled."

Ms Murphy added: "The industry needs to be built up again, it's just been depleted and depleted and depleted ...

"At this age there is so much that a child can learn about themselves, their identity, and their knowledge and their love for learning ... once you miss it, you've missed it."

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