Parents are urged to keep taking their children to ABC Learning centres to stave off closures as the Federal Government faces pressure to call an emergency summit on child care.
ABC Learning, the nation's largest child-care provider, went into voluntary administration last week with debts of about $1billion.
A not-for-profit group Try Youth and Community Services has now offered to buy up to 40 of the centres in the aftermath of the collapse.
The Greens will today push for an emergency summit on child care, calling on the Government to support its motion in the upper house.
The union which represents child-care workers has urged parents to keep taking their children to ABC Learning centres to prevent their closure.
Concerned parents could be forced to wait weeks to find out the fate of their local centres, the secretary of the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers' Union, Louise Tarrant, said yesterday after meeting receiver McGrathNicol. ''Clearly the discussion we had was that a lot more work needs to be done on identifying the basis for that 40 per cent,'' she said.
''And part of the receiver's clear comments to us was that's the work that really now needs doing over the next few weeks.''
ABC Learning employs about 16,000 people and cares for about 120,000 children in 1040 centres around the country.
A preliminary analysis shows about two in every five centres are unprofitable, prompting the Government to put up $22million to keep these centres' doors open.
Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard said the Opposition had ''dithered about every 15 minutes'' since the problem emerged.
''The Government will continue to work with the receiver and continue to work with the financiers of ABC Learning in order to find a long-term solution,'' Ms Gillard told Parliament.
''The Government has acted quickly and decisively to ensure that parents can rely on ABC centres being available, providing care, to 31December this year.''
Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull said the Coalition supported the $22million bail-out to prevent the closure of unprofitable centres before New Year's Eve.
''The big issue, I think, is what is the longer-term solution going to be,'' Mr Turnbull said.
''[Ms] Gillard needs to explain to all of us exactly what the $22 million is going to be spent on, how it's going to be effective.''
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the Government had provided ''vague responses'' to her questions about ABC Learning's financial strife.
Today she plans to move a motion in the Senate to set up an emergency summit on child care.
''The community sector, those working on the ground who hold the child-care expertise, and Government must be brought together to talk about this essential social service.
''We need to open a dialogue to determine the way forward for child care in Australia. Early childhood education and child care deserves to be stable, sustainable, and of high quality for all of our next generation.'' with AAP