Education advocates are warning of a crisis in disability education as new data suggests the number of students with special needs has doubled.
A 2014 South Australian government report found that as many as one in six children now meet the new national definition of disabled.
Previous estimates have suggested only one in 12 Australian students would need extra help at school to cope with a disability.
The federal government has set aside $5 billion over the next four years to help schools give disabled students the extra help they need.
Education Minister Christopher Pyne has said all students who meet the definition of disability will get the extra loading, so none will miss out.
But the teachers' union says the latest information from the trial data collections reveal a crisis in disability education.
"The problem is far bigger than recognised by our current funding system," Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe said in a statement on Monday.
"We will need urgent reforms and an increase in funding if we are to properly educate every child with disability."
All schools will count students meeting the new definitions during 2015, meaning funding in 2016 will be based on comprehensive national data for the first time.
The new national definition is broader than that used by many states previously and includes students with learning difficulties and mental health conditions if they need ongoing extra support from schools.
Students with dyslexia, hearing impairments or foetal alcohol spectrum disorder could also now count as disabled if they need long-term support with their education.
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