Migraine Australia's successful Annual General Meeting this week appointed a new board and determined our advocacy priority for 2025.
Full board appointed
Six inspiring and highly qualified women were appointed to the Migraine Australia board.
Those appointed on Sunday include mental health advocate and fashion business leader Jude Kingston and CPA and tax specialist Kristy Norman-Hade, who were both confirmed as Directors after joining the board earlier this year as Casual Directors. The four new faces are global risk and governance consultant Kristyne Weiss, nutritionist and former public servant Kelly Joy, educator and not for profit executive Pamela Simon, and medical research and technology professional Michelle Richards.
They join founder, media professional and political strategist Raphaella Kathryn Crosby, Men with Migraine leader Alex Delaney, and Advisory Committee representative and finance professional Karen Woodhart, in a full board of nine, all of whom live with migraine.
Membership changes passed
Members have clearly voted in support of reforms to the membership of Migraine Australia, with 95% support for a single tier of membership with equal voting rights (replacing the current two tier structure) and a better process for ensuring members can put motions forward at general meetings. The company will now work on these as well as other constitutional reforms, which will be brought back to the next AGM.
2025 PRIORITY: Migraine as a disability
48% of members of Migraine Australia voted for the organisation’s priority for 2025 to be getting migraine recognised as a disability with equal access to supports, the clear leader over the other priorities.
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PRIORITY FOR 2025 POLL |
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| Name | Foundation | Ordinary | Total | % |
| Migraine as a Disability | 21 | 21 | 42 | 48% |
| Expanding the Migraine Toolbox | 14 | 10 | 24 | 27% |
| Regional Migraine Care | 9 | 3 | 12 | 14% |
| Paediatric Migraine Care | 7 | 2 | 9 | 10% |
| Supporting our Volunteers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1% |
Put forward by Migraine Australia's Advisory Committee, which exists to ensure the most debilitated by migraine always have a voice to the highest levels in the organisation, the need for better access to disability supports and better recognition of migraine as a disability has traditionally been a challenging conversation for our community. There are many at the lower end of the migraine spectrum who reject the characterisation of migraine as a disability, meaning the first task will be to get our own community fully on board.
Strategy planning for what specific goals we are trying to achieve and how we are going to achieve them will now take place through until November. Anyone wanting to work on this project should sign up as a volunteer, or if already a volunteer, by contacting RK on Slack.
New Burple for 2025: Betty
| Burple 2025 | ||||
| Name | Foundation | Ordinary | Total | % |
| Betty | 16 | 12 | 28 | 32% |
| Bailey | 14 | 8 | 22 | 25% |
| Berkley | 12 | 10 | 22 | 25% |
| Brody | 10 | 6 | 16 | 18% |
This was a close one, but the happy smiley Betty was the winner to be our new Burple in 2025.
Thank you to all our members who participated in the AGM. To have your say on what Migraine Australia does and support our efforts to improve the care and well being of all Australians living with migraine, please become a member today.