Migraine Australia is appalled that the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has once again excluded migraine from the Census and other key health data collection efforts, reinforcing stigma and limiting access to funding and treatment.
Despite being one of the most common chronic health conditions in Australia, impacting millions of people, migraine is consistently overlooked. The ABS argues that defining "migraine" is too difficult and that uncertainty about the term makes data collection unreliable. As a result, migraine remains absent from major national health reports, including those by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
In its recently published Outcomes of the 2026 Census Topic Review, the ABS stated that migraine will not be included in the long-term health conditions question. Their justification is that "migraine" may not be consistently understood or answered correctly by respondents. This decision continues a pattern of exclusion that has left migraine unrecognised in national health statistics for years.
"This is blatant discrimination," said Jude Kingston, a representative of Migraine Australia. "If migraine isn’t counted, it isn’t funded. It isn’t researched. And people living with migraine are left to suffer in silence."
The consequences of this data gap are severe. While more Australians report chronic migraine than diabetes or heart disease, the condition remains the most underfunded, underdiagnosed, and undertreated in the country. The lack of recognition has a flow-on effect, leading to inadequate workplace accommodations, limited treatment options, and restricted public health initiatives.
Migraine Australia’s "Give Migraine a Break" campaign is calling on the government to intervene and ensure that the ABS includes migraine in future health data collection. The organisation has made a formal pre-budget submission outlining the critical need for accurate migraine data and urging the government to address this systemic exclusion.
"We need the public to take action," said Jude. "Write to your MP. Demand that migraine be included in the Census. Let’s put an end to this unacceptable discrimination."
For more information, or to arrange an interview with a Migraine Australia spokesperson, contact [email protected]