Advocating for better migraine care

24 September 2026

What this briefing is about

This session shows you how to meet your local federal MP and ask them to act on migraine care. It covers what to say, what to ask for, and what happens next. No advocacy experience is needed.

Watch the recording, then work through the resources below. Everything you need for a meeting is on this page.

Why it matters

Around 4 million Australians live with migraine, roughly one in seven (AIHW, September 2026). Despite that scale, access to effective treatment remains slow, restrictive and expensive for many people.

MPs respond to their own constituents. A single conversation from someone who lives in their electorate carries more weight than any submission we can write on your behalf. What we are asking them to do is specific and achievable: write to the Federal Health Minister in support of three practical reforms.

When hundreds of people make the same request in their own words, it stops looking like one person’s problem and starts looking like a policy issue the government needs to answer.

How to use these resources

1. Watch the briefing recording. It walks through the whole process, including how to tell your story in three parts and how to make the ask.

2. Read the position paper. Four pages, with the three recommendations on the front. This is the document you attach to your email and hand over in the meeting.

3. Request your meeting. Use the meeting-request email template. Change the details in brackets, add two sentences about your own experience, and send it to your MP’s electorate office. Find yours at aph.gov.au/members/contact.

4. No reply after 7 days? Use the follow-up template.

5. Prepare with the checklist. Print it and tick as you go. It covers what to do before, during and after your meeting, including asking for a photo.

6. Check the FAQs. Common questions about nerves, policy detail, unsupportive MPs, and what to do if you are too unwell to attend.

7. Afterwards, send the thank-you email. It thanks your MP and puts your understanding of what was agreed in writing. Then tell us how it went and send us the photo, so we can track what is landing and where.

Why we use the same ask

Personalise your story. Keep the policy request word for word:

“Would you write to the Federal Health Minister supporting the three recommendations in this position paper, and ask for concrete next steps and indicative timeframes?”

Then: “Could you share the letter and the Minister’s response with me?”

Your story is what makes the meeting memorable. The consistent ask is what makes it count. When every MP receives the same clear request backed by the same evidence, the Health Minister receives one coherent message rather than dozens of different ones.

If you get stuck

Email at info@brainfoundation.org.au or call us on 1300 886 660. We will help you prepare, and we want to hear how your meeting went, whether it was helpful or disappointing.

Your Advocacy Toolkit

Click on the image to download each resource.

YOUR ADVOCACY CHECKLIST

Use the following checklist to help organise and plan your meeting with your MP.

MEETING REQUEST EMAIL

We have developed a template meeting request letter for you to e-mail your local MP and/or Senator.

FOLLOW UP LETTERS (x2) 

We have developed a template follow up letter with two options. First is if there is no reply to your meeting request after 7 days. Second, checking on something the MP actually agreed to, sent on the date you both set.

THANK YOU LETTER 

We have developed a template thank you letter for you to e-mail your local MP following your meeting with them.

ADVOCACY WEBINAR SLIDES

Download a copy of the slides from the video presentation with step by step tips on how to prepare, what to expect and how to follow up with your MP meeting.

REPORT PRINT OUT

This is the report outlining the migraine access issues in Australia and our request from government. We encourage you to print this, take it with you to your meeting and leave it with your MP. If you forget to print it, you can also email it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before and during the meeting

I’m nervous, or I might get emotional.

Notes, pauses and a support person are all welcome, and you choose what to share. You can stop at any point. Electorate staff meet nervous constituents all the time, and nobody expects a polished speech.

I don’t know enough about policy.

You do not need to. Your experience is the part nobody else can provide. Hand over the position paper, which is four pages with the three recommendations on the front, and offer to refer anything technical to us.

When can I start?

Straight away (September-October 2026). We would like to get as many meetings conducted in October and November in the lead up to our government budget submission requesting more support for migraine in Australia.

What do I need to know about my MP and Senator? 

Your MP and Senator website and social media channels are also a great way to see what they have been talking about recently.

What if I need to reschedule the meeting/ or too unwell to attend? 

If you need to reschedule the meeting, speak with their office as early as possible and find a new meeting time that suits you both. You can also ask for a phone or online meeting, or send your story in writing using the same template and the same request. Nobody owes the campaign their health.

What do I do if my MP or Senator doesn’t want to meet with me? 

MPs and Senators have busy diaries full of local community events, meetings with constituents like yourself, as well as parliamentary responsibilities. If your local MP or Senator is a Minister or Shadow Minister, then they can spend weeks at a time on the road developing policies or speaking with various groups within the sector.

If you do have trouble with meeting with your MP or Senator, reach out to Migraine & Headache Australia and we can work through it with the office directly. Often, it’s an issue of timing.

What if I only get a meeting with a staff member?

That is a useful first conversation. Electorate staff brief the MP and are often the people who draft the letter.

How do I stay in contact with my local MP or Senator? 

Follow them on their social media handles e.g. Facebook, Twitter, or sign up to their newsletter. They may also signal during the meeting other ways that you can stay in contact as they may want to continue to hear about your experience living with migraine.

What if the MP is unsupportive?

Ask which of the barriers they would be willing to raise, note their reason accurately, and tell us. You are not required to debate. A clear “no” still informs the campaign.

Do I have to have my photo taken?

No. A photo helps show that real constituents are raising this, and we would love one, but always ask the MP first and never feel you have to be in it. A photograph is not the measure of a good meeting.

The ask

What exactly am I asking for?

“Would you write to the Federal Health Minister supporting the three recommendations in this position paper, and ask what pathway the Department will use to resolve them?” Then: “Could you share the letter and the Minister’s response with me?”

Why a letter, rather than something else?

A written request gives an MP of any party a concrete action, and it creates a record that you and MHA can follow up. If they would rather raise it directly with the Minister, that is valuable too. Ask what they raised and what response or next step came back.

Will this get my own treatment funded?

Not directly. The campaign seeks wider policy change. A meeting does not guarantee an individual treatment or funding outcome, and a ministerial letter does not bypass assessment.

What does “national health priority” actually mean?

It is the overarching purpose: government recognising the scale and burden of migraine and working with patients and clinicians on access. The phrase on its own does not create funding, PBS eligibility or a formal designation, which is why we always connect it to the three practical reforms.

What are the three recommendations?

1. Modernise PBS access criteria, so people can reach migraine-specific preventive therapies earlier where clinically appropriate, without failing multiple older treatments first.
2. Improve affordable treatment choice, through clearer and more workable reimbursement pathways.
3. Strengthen primary-care capability, by sustaining national migraine education for GPs and practical access to specialist advice.

The campaign

How many Australians live with migraine?

Around 4 million, or roughly one in seven (AIHW, September 2026). An earlier AIHW figure of 1.7 million measured self-reported long-term migraine. The two use different definitions and data sources, so they are not a trend over time and migraine has not suddenly doubled.

Who is behind this?

Brain Foundation, through its Migraine & Headache Australia division, endorsed by Patients Australia, Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, Pain Australia and Big Head Pain.

Who funds it?

The PBS Access Advocacy in Migraine initiative is supported by sponsorship from AbbVie, Ipsen, Lundbeck Australia, Pfizer and Teva. Brain Foundation independently determined the positions in the paper following sector-wide consultation, and retains responsibility for the final content.

What should I do after the meeting?

Send a short thank-you note summarising what was discussed and anything agreed. Send us the photo, tell us how it went, and ask for the letter and the Minister’s response when they arrive.

Everything you need is on this page, including the meeting-request template, the position paper, the advocacy checklist and the webinar recording. Email us with questions or updates at info@brainfoundation.org.au

Brain Foundation, through its Migraine & Headache Australia division.