The Australian Human Rights Commission has called for urgent government action after a study showed child physical, emotional and sexual abuse is "disturbingly prevalent" across the nation.

One in three Australian children experience physical abuse and one in four experience sexual abuse, according to a Queensland University of Technology survey of 8500 Australians published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday.

National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds says the "confronting" findings show there's an urgent need for a child well-being strategy.

"We have no reporting on budget allocations for child wellbeing. We have no Minister for Children. We have no vision, and we have had no urgency for change," she said in a statement.

"In a prosperous country like Australia, child well-being should be a bipartisan priority. Today we have a rare opportunity to build a national agreement to prioritise child wellbeing and create a roadmap for reform."

Federal Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus promised to look carefully at the findings when developing more targeted politics.

"This is a wake-up call to all of us, across all levels of government, and the community. We must do better," the pair said in a statement.

"This landmark study, the first high-quality, nationally representative study of the prevalence of all five forms of child maltreatment, must focus our minds on prevention and response to child maltreatment."

QUT's Professor Ben Matthews led the study and said the mistreatment of children had long-term effects including increasing the likelihood of mental health disorders and risky behaviours.

He cited emotional abuse and exposure to domestic violence as the most common, while sexual abuse by some types of offenders has also grown.

"A major area of concern is the increase in sexual abuse by known adolescents, the group who inflict the greatest proportion of all sexual abuse," Prof Matthews said in a statement.

Children who are victims were almost three times more likely to have generalised anxiety disorder, severe alcohol use disorder, and major depressive disorder.

They're also nearly five times more likely to have PTSD, with girls particularly vulnerable to emotional abuse and mental disorders.

More than 37 per cent of girls experience sexual abuse, which is twice the amount of boys.

About 30 per cent of 16-24-year-old participants have also self-harmed, which includes about two in five females and one in five males.

Almost one in four children experience three-to-five types of maltreatment, influenced by parental risk factors such as alcohol and substance misuse, and mental health problems.

Prof Matthews said sexual and emotional abuse have devastating, long-term, cascading effects on the mental health of victims.

"Sexual abuse and emotional abuse were most strongly associated with mental health disorders and health risk behaviours, making these two forms of maltreatment prime targets for intensified national prevention and early intervention policies," he said.

"Child maltreatment contributes greatly to our national crisis in youth self-harm and suicide attempts."