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This report outlines the primary findings of the Australian Child Maltreatment Study which is the first Australian nationally-representative study of all five forms of child maltreatment including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and exposure to domestic violence. The report outlines the prevalence of child abuse and neglect at a national level across all age groups as well as youth-specific prevalence rates. The report also outlines the strong associations between child maltreatment and mental health

This research is the first Australian study to investigate developmental pathways to numeracy and literacy skills through the examination of early health factors including birth characteristics, using longitudinal, population-based linked health and education data. These studies suggest that, contrary to initiatives which predominantly focus on improving teaching at school, the focus should be on ensuring that all children have the best possible start to life. This will set children on a positive developmental pathway and maximise their chances of succeeding academically. This research also identified a range of risk and protective factors for academic achievement of primary school children. An adequate understanding of how these factors relate to academic achievement is essential for the development of evidence-based prevention, secondary and tertiary intervention strategies, thus enabling an integrated health and education approach.