Immunity Group Australia is proud to support the Allergy Microbiome Foundation’s 2026 Food Allergy Gala Dinner, taking place on Wednesday, 21 October 2026 at The Tea Room, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney.
This is Our Why – please continue reading below.
About the Gala
AMF’s mission is to create a safer and better-informed society for people affected by allergies and microbiome-related health challenges. Its work spans education, policy, advocacy, and community support, and seeks to bridge emerging scientific research with the everyday experiences of individuals and families living with allergic disease.
Allergy-safe dining options are available for all ticket holders booked by 7 October 2026.
🔬 Fundraising for the next stage of allergy research
The 2026 Gala marks an important start to AMF’s fundraising efforts to support much-needed research into food allergy, family care, and the role of general practice in allergy care.
For many families, allergies are not confined to occasional specialist appointments. They affect everyday decisions involving schools, travel, food, sport, mental wellbeing and access to healthcare. General practitioners are often among the first healthcare professionals families approach, particularly outside major specialist centres.
AMF wants to help build the evidence base around how families experience allergy care, how allergy-related services can be strengthened within general practice, and how research can ultimately translate into practical improvements in community healthcare.
The Gala is therefore not simply about raising funds for one evening. It marks the beginning of a broader effort to bring together families, healthcare practitioners, researchers, policymakers, industry, media and community organisations around questions that deserve greater attention and investment.
✈️ A major focus of the evening: Australia’s food allergy air travel experience
One of the Gala’s most important elements will be the official launch of the National Food Allergy Air Travel Survey report.
The project provides a national snapshot of the experiences of Australians travelling with food allergy and is intended to inform advocacy and constructive discussion with airlines, government, healthcare professionals and industry about safety and accessibility in air travel.
For people living with food allergy, flying can present challenges that extend well beyond what food is served onboard. Families may need to consider airline policies, communication with cabin crew, cleaning and cross-contact, access to emergency medication, pre-boarding arrangements and what happens if a serious allergic reaction occurs thousands of metres above the ground.
These issues are equally relevant to the aviation and travel industries. Better data can help shift the discussion away from assumptions and toward understanding what passengers actually experience.
The Inaugural Fundraising Gala will give families, healthcare professionals, industry representatives, and decision-makers an opportunity to hear these findings together and begin a wider conversation about what safer and more inclusive air travel could look like.
🎤 Research, lived experience and an evening of entertainment
The evening is designed to combine serious discussion with community connection and entertainment.
Guests will hear from Victoria Pavasovic, who will speak about gut and microbiome health and its relationship with wider health and wellbeing.
The program will also feature a renowned Sydney writer and comedian, Tami Sussman, who lives with a food allergy, performing an original stand-up comedy piece created especially for the evening. Bringing humour respectfully into the conversation is an opportunity to explore the realities of living with a food allergy from a completely different perspective.
Guests will also enjoy a special performance by acclaimed cellist Aleksandar Zivkovic, alongside dinner, drinks, fundraising activities and opportunities to connect with people working across healthcare, research, business, advocacy and the food allergy community.
The Gala will be held in the historic Tea Room at Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building, with an allergy-aware dining experience, beverages and barista coffee included as part of the evening.
💙 Why attend?
For families, the evening is an opportunity to have lived experience represented in discussions about research, healthcare and policy.
For GPs and other healthcare professionals, it offers an opportunity to connect with families and colleagues while supporting research into how allergy care can be strengthened in community practice.
For researchers, policymakers and industry, the Gala provides access to perspectives that can sometimes be difficult to capture through data alone.
And for businesses and members of the broader community, it is an opportunity to support an independent charity working to make everyday environments safer and more inclusive for people living with allergies.
Most importantly, everyone attending contributes to the same objective: turning community experience into research, evidence, education and meaningful change.
🌱 ImGA supporting independent community-led research and advocacy
Immunity Group Australia believes that progress in food allergy requires collaboration across the entire ecosystem: families, researchers, GPs, specialists, allied health professionals, charities, universities, policymakers and industry.
That is why we are pleased to support AMF in promoting this event while respecting and maintaining the Foundation’s independent governance, charitable mission and Board-led decision-making.
AMF describes its goal as helping people with allergies live safely and confidently through education, support, research and advocacy.
The Gala Night is an opportunity to help turn that mission into tangible work.
📍 The Tea Room, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney
📅 Wednesday, 21 October 2026
🕡 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Come for the cause. Connect with the community. Help build the evidence for what comes next.
Event information and tickets: Food Allergy Gala Dinner 2026 (www.allergycharity.com/events).
Note: Virtual Tickets will be available for purchase from 9 October 2026.
The Allergy Microbiome Foundation (AMF) is an independently governed Australian DGR-registered charity with its own Board of Directors. It operates independently of Immunity Group Australia, the Australian Government departments or any donor. ImGA supports AMF by raising awareness of its work and encouraging families, healthcare professionals, and the wider community to engage with local and global initiatives that advance food allergy research, education, and advocacy.
