Launched by Migraine Australia, the groups hope to provide a peer support network online and in-person for migraine sufferers.

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Migraine costs the Australian economy over $35 billion a year and affects 4.9 million Australians - 1 in 3 women, and 1 in 10 men according to Deloitte Access Economics data.

Founder of Migraine Australia, Dr Raphaella Kathryn Crosby said the local groups are a really powerful tool to combat the isolation and loneliness many people who live with migraine experience.

"Many people with migraine rarely go out and are quite socially isolated because no one understands the unpredictability of life with migraine - except other people who live with migraine," she said.

"Our local groups enable people to connect with others in their local area and provide real and direct peer support to each other."

Dr Crosby said new groups have been launched ahead of Migraine Awareness Month 2021.

"We're getting Migraine Awareness Month off to a great start with the listing of a new migraine medication Emgality on the PBS, announced in the budget, and this big expansion of our local support networks," she said.

Other news:

"We're hoping there will be more good news on the new medication front with another new drug called Vyepti close to being approved by the TGA."

They join existing groups that cover the Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Gold Coast, Fraser Coast, Hunter Valley, and Sunraysia areas.

The new groups will also be launched in Ballarat and Geelong.

There is also a national support group specifically for men with migraine, and a group for the friends and family who care for people with migraine.

More details are available from the Migraine Australia here.

Links to all the local support groups are available here.

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