A University of Sydney study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, found that childhood maltreatment causes up to 40 per cent of common, life-long mental health conditions.1 It is the first research in Australia to estimate the proportion of mental health conditions directly caused by childhood maltreatment, independent from other influences such as genetics and social environments. This FACSIAR Summary provides an overview of key findings from the study, which complements the findings from the 2023 Australian Child Maltreatment Study2 and highlights the need to address the underlying drivers of child maltreatment.