"A lot of people have worked really hard over a long period of time to make sure the sport is truly recognised. It’s taken many, many years so it’s a happy day, said Australian Paralympic Committee chief executive Lynne Anderson.

"That recognition is so important for these athletes. They work just as hard, many doing part-time jobs and for some of them, training for years in facilities that aren’t entirely accessible. They’re saying now that ‘we are being supported to go out and do our best for Australia’. It’s a big thing."

Preparing for – and travelling too – and Olympic Games can be an expensive business. It's even more costly for para-sport athletes that must travel long distances with added specialist equipment.

Extra funds will also take pressure off athletes that must travel for Olympic lead-up events before making the journey to Japan for the Games.

"There is accommodation, travel, particularly leading into the Games they are travelling all around the globe because they have lead-up events. There are costs particularly around freight, wheelchairs and equipment. It’s very expensive," Anderson said.

"We are still very lean and mean because that’s what the Paralympic movement does. We are underdone, very definitely underdone. In Rio, I think the Brits out-spent us by 330 per cent.

"Even allowing for that investment from big competitors, our guys can do a lot with very little. We’ve been top five since Barcelona. That’s extraordinary given the talent pool we have to pick from."

Government funding for elite sport is a delicate subject at the best of times but Anderson said the trickle-down impact to aspiring athletes, other Australians with a disability and Australians in general was real and inspiring.

"We think it goes beyond people with a disability. We think our Paralympians, just the very nature of their stories, their achievements, they inspire us all every day in terms of how you handle life," Anderson said.

"They are on the global stage, yes, but its’ really the broader impact we have that we know is really important.

"They are extraordinary. Paralympic athletes are up there with some of the best Australia has ever had. We should pay tribute to Commonwealth Games last year where they were given equal time with their able-bodied counterparts, which was fantastic."

Tokyo will represent one of the largest Paralympic teams for Australia, with current slots for about 180 athletes across 16 sports plus a host of guides, pilots, coaches and medical and technical officials.

Daniel Michel, who competed in boccia (a bocce type game for athletes in wheelchairs) in Rio, said funding was always on the back of the mind of athletes and the news allowed a new focus on their sport.

"In para-sport, funding is always a high concern for us," Michel said. "(This) definitely reduces that and allows us to focus on what we need to do.

- with AAP