The report, prepared by the United Nations Children's Fund's Innocenti Research Centre, said Australia met just two of 10 benchmarks, accreditation for early-learning staff and provision of subsidised childcare services for at least 25 per cent of children under three.

As the Government considers what to do about the struggling ABC Childcare Group, UNICEF said the minimum amount that should be spent on childcare was one per cent of gross domestic product.

Australia failed to make the grade on that count, as well as for providing a minimal amount of paid parental leave, staff training and staff to children ratios.

Sweden ranked number one in the world for childcare with ticks in every box. It was followed by Iceland. Denmark, Finland, France and Norway.

Australia ranked 22 of 24, ahead of Canada and Ireland but behind the US, UK and Mexico.

The report, titled The Child Care Transition, says poor quality care had the potential for both immediate and long-term harm to children.

It warned that some nations provided childcare in an ad hoc way with minimal assurances of quality.

Director of UNICEF's Innocenti Research Centre, Marta Santos Pais, said Australia was one of the few countries that did not yet have a national plan on early childhood education and care.

"That may qualify the vision of the Government for investment in early years and what is the funding that may be required to make sure that that process moves forward in the right manner," she said in an interview.

Ms Santos Pais said Australia was providing less than half of the benchmark of one per cent of GDP for childcare services.

"It means that there is not the reassurance for families that there will be a network of services available for all children particularly those who live in remote areas, who live in rural areas, who belong to ethnic minorities who very often in society are the most disadvantaged," she said.