On the back of the collapse of Australia's largest childcare provider, ABC Learning Centres, the report revealed the nation's poor childcare record, she said.

The report said Australia ranked near the bottom of a list of 25 OECD countries for childcare services. 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 - set by UNICEF.

"We've come third-last in the world in terms of our commitment, our funding and our approach to looking after our youngest Australians," Senator Hanson-Young told reporters today.

"It should call the Government to action and be another reason to rethink the way we manage child care in Australia.

"At the moment child care is seen as an extra-curricular activity, like sending your kids to dance class when in fact it's not.

"It's about education and caring for kids in those really formative years. It's an essential service."

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said deficiencies within the childcare system would not be fixed overnight.

"You can't overcome more than a decade of neglect in a single day or in a single year," she said in an interview.

The Government had invested more than half a billion dollars in universal pre-school, and more than $100 million in new workforce development to help train early learning teachers, she said.

UNICEF said countries such as Australia should be spending at least one per cent of their gross domestic product on childhood services.

Australia was spending less than half a per cent by failing to have a paid parental leave scheme, insufficient staff training and inadequate staff-to-children ratios.

Australia ranked 23 of 25 countries considered, ahead of only Canada and Ireland.