Where early childhood centres put profits ahead of children's safety, there is a serious problem, the CEO of Australia's peak body for Indigenous children and families says.

Speaking to National Indigenous Times following an independent review, which confirmed a self-determined, culturally safe learning model is a "highly valued and effective initiative", SNAICC - National Voice for our Children CEO Catherine Liddle said some of the "horrible stories" emerging from the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector stem from years of under-investment.

An ABC Four Corners investigation recently revealed paedophiles had infiltrated the $22 billion childcare industry, exploiting lax regulation, patchy oversight and staffing shortages.

"Every child should be safe - that is unequivocal - every child should be safe, and every family should be able to trust that their children are safe -early years services do an incredible job of that," Ms Liddle says.

"What we're seeing at the moment is largely the impact of not having an investment into the early years services like they should have. That means ensuring that you have a workforce that is sustainable. It means ensuring the workforce is one that is paid appropriately. It means ensuring that your services are responding to the needs of children and families first.

"When you look at some of those horrible stories coming through, what you will also see is that those stories are largely embedded in the for-profit sector, and that shows a critical problem that was picked up by the Productivity Commission, which essentially at the heart of it is saying, 'where you put profits before the safety of children, you have a problem'."

Ms Liddle is in Canberra this week with Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisation (ACCO) directors to meet with MPs about the success of SNAICC's Early Years Support (EYS) program, one of the first initiatives delivered under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

She said that while programs like EYS have been widely praised by government and sector stakeholders, they still operate on short-term "pilot" funding cycles.

"We hear it's a fantastic program with a sound evaluation," the Arrernte/Luritja woman says.

"What we're yet to hear is that the commitment to it being supported and sustainable in the long-term."

An independent Deloitte evaluation found the program plays a "critical role in delivering direct, responsive support to services," contributing to "improved service quality, reduced barriers to effective delivery, and alleviated administrative burden".

"The strong relationships built by SNAICC Early Years Support have opened the doors for effective policy influence and development - fostered by a more connected ACCO sector," the report said.

"This has created critical opportunities to work collectively with governments to lift child, family and community outcomes - in an increasingly co-ordinated, cohesive, and culturally strong ACCO service system."

Ms Liddle notes the EYS program succeeds because it reduces administrative and systemic burdens, enabling services to focus on delivering high-quality, culturally strong care, which allows SNAICC to react quickly to local challenges while connecting services to national reform efforts under Closing the Gap.

The program ensures ACCOs delivering early childhood education have access to the same professional and operational support often available to large mainstream providers.

Ms Liddle says ACCOs work in an "incredibly complex environment," and notes the EYS relies on relationships built over 40 years.

"Every service is going to have different challenges," she argues.

"Is it something administrative, like, 'Do you need help in interpreting the latest policy?' Or do you need something practical that says, 'What's your HR framework at this moment in time?' Or it could be something as simple as 'we can't currently access funding to build a new toilet block'."

Recent data also shows a rare positive trend: while overall developmental outcomes for Australian children declined, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children improved, which Ms Liddle attributed to ACCO-led early years services.

She says the best way organisations like SNAICC can support children is by focusing on "practice on the floor" rather than constantly battling for funding and legislative support.

"Closing the Gap starts with our children," she added.

"If children have everything that they need, it means that families are able to access the supports they need, which means communities are able to access the things that make them strong. Programs like Early Years Support are critical because they help make sure those services are connected to the supports that make them as strong as they can possibly be."