Australia has a chance not simply to respond to the growing burden of neurological disease but to lead in protecting brain health across the life course.
Australia has national strategies for cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia and mental health. But we have no national brain health strategy.
That omission is becoming increasingly difficult to defend.
The brain is our most valuable organ. It allows us to think, communicate, learn, remember, innovate, work and maintain our independence. Yet despite remarkable advances in neuroscience, Australia continues to approach neurological conditions one disease at a time.
Stroke has its own programs. Dementia has a strategy. Brain injury, migraine, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and many other neurological disorders each compete for attention, funding and workforce.
Patients, however, do not experience their brain this way. Nor should our health system.
Neurological disorders are now the leading cause of disability worldwide and the second leading cause of death.
Australia is already seeing the consequences. Our ageing population, increasing survival after stroke and traumatic brain injury, and growing prevalence of chronic neurological disease are placing unprecedented pressure on hospitals, rehabilitation services, aged care, disability services and general practice.
Yet this is not simply a story about disease.
The World Health Organization defines brain health as the ability to optimise cognitive, emotional, behavioural, sensory and motor function throughout life. That definition fundamentally changes the conversation.
Brain health is no longer just the responsibility of neurologists. It belongs to every clinician and every Australian.
General practitioners reduce future stroke and dementia by managing blood pressure and diabetes. Obstetricians influence foetal brain development. Paediatricians help optimise neurodevelopment. Psychiatrists, physicians, rehabilitation specialists and aged care clinicians all contribute to lifelong brain health.
So do teachers. So do employers. So do governments.
Perhaps most importantly, many threats to brain health are preventable.
Regular physical activity, healthy nutrition, adequate sleep, hearing preservation, smoking cessation, reduced alcohol consumption, cardiovascular risk management, social connection and lifelong learning all reduce the likelihood of neurological disease while improving healthy ageing.
The evidence has never been stronger.
The challenge is that Australia still lacks a framework that brings these opportunities together.
Instead, funding, policy and advocacy remain fragmented. Individual diseases compete for attention despite sharing many of the same risk factors, prevention strategies, workforce needs and rehabilitation challenges.
This fragmentation is costly – not only financially, but also for patients navigating multiple services and clinicians attempting to deliver coordinated care within increasingly complex health systems.
The World Health Organization’s Intersectoral Global Action Plan on Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders provides an international roadmap that recognises this reality. Rather than focusing solely on individual diseases, it encourages countries to strengthen prevention, improve equitable access, expand workforce capability, invest in research and reduce neurological inequity.
Australia should seize this opportunity.
We have internationally recognised neuroscience researchers, world-class universities, excellent primary care, outstanding clinicians and highly engaged consumer organisations. What we lack is a national vision that unites these strengths.
A National Brain Health Strategy could provide exactly that.
It could establish brain health as a whole-of-government priority, integrating health, education, disability, aged care, Indigenous health, public health and research. It could strengthen prevention, improve equitable access to neurological care regardless of postcode, expand the neuroscience workforce, accelerate translation of research into practice and develop measurable national brain health indicators.
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Importantly, this should not become another strategy that sits on a shelf.
It must include measurable outcomes, clear accountability and meaningful consumer partnership. Brain health should be considered whenever governments make decisions about education, housing, transport, workplace policy, environmental health and preventive health – not simply when funding hospitals.
This conversation is already beginning.
On World Brain Day 2026 on 22 July, Australian clinicians, researchers, policymakers, consumer organisations and community leaders will gather at Australia’s Brain Health Summit to begin discussing what a National Brain Health Strategy should look like. The timing could not be better.
Australia has an opportunity not simply to respond to the growing burden of neurological disease but to lead internationally in protecting brain health across the life course.
The question is no longer whether Australia needs a National Brain Health Strategy, because the evidence is overwhelming.
The real question is whether we are prepared to act before the burden becomes even greater.
Our patients deserve nothing less.
Professor Tissa Wijeratne OAM is chair of World Brain Day 2026. He is professor of neurology at RMIT University, and is director of neurology and stroke services at Western Health in Victoria.
Professor Mukesh Haikerwal AC is a former Australian Medical Association president, practicing GP, digital health leader and honorary academic, recognised for his contributions to medical governance, primary care and health reform.
