The Victorian coalition has promised to place specialists in prep classrooms across the state from term one in 2028, if it wins the November state election.
Under the proposal, billed as the first of its kind in Australia, the allied health professionals would observe students, identify potential learning and developmental needs along with providing advice to parents.
The move would address a gap within Victoria's primary school nursing program and help kids unlock their potential, opposition education spokesman Brad Rowswell said.
"At the minimum, every one of those prep students or foundational students ... will have at least 15 minutes observation time," Mr Rowswell told reporters on Wednesday.
"If the OT or speechy determine that a particular student requires further investigation they're funded to undertake it.
"They're funded to produce that report, to sit down with those parents and importantly guide those parents through what the next steps and options might be."
A $500 subsidy would also be made available for a specialist appointment to kickstart the path to diagnosis.
The opposition policy has been costed at about $40 million a year and would come from the Department of Education budget, Mr Rowswell said.
"It's been costed based on the amount of foundational/prep students across the state, that's 85,000 on average," he said.
It is unclear how many workers will be required to complete the task, with specialists to be contracted and potentially roam from class to class.
At present, the Victorian education department recommends parents speak to their doctor or a maternal and child health nurse if concerned about their child's development to organise an expert referral.
Dr Fiona Aldridge, clinical psychologist and head of assessments at autism support service Aspect, said she wasn't aware of any state running such a universal identification program within schools.
While offering broad support for early identification through schools, she acknowledged workforce challenges may be a barrier to delivery and argued extra training would be needed.
"The devil is always in the detail," Dr Aldridge told AAP.
Dr Aldridge said the $500 subsidy would likely not cover the significant cost of an initial assessment with a psychologist who specialises in autism but it was "helpful contribution".
"It's more than Medicare would currently give you," she said.
"The other pathway to a diagnosis is via a pediatrician and $500 would make more an impact on that pathway."
More than 1.1 million Australian school students received an educational adjustment due to disability in 2025, representing 27 per cent of total enrolments.
Of those, 53 per cent had a cognitive disability and 36.3 per cent had a social-emotional disability.
In a duelling announcement, Education Minister Ben Carroll on Wednesday set aside $75.1 million for free public school extension and enrichment programs.
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