The new figures are more than double the previous estimate due to a change in the way the chronic illness is recorded.
Advocates say the new statistics highlight the need for more urgent action and investment in neurological conditions.
“Migraine is more prevalent than diabetes … but I think at the moment it’s just dismissed as someone having a headache and needing Panadol,”
In Australia, neurological conditions such as migraine, dementia and epilepsy were the fifth leading cause of disease burden, which measures the impact of living with illness and injury and dying prematurely.