Paralympics Australia chief executive Lynne Anderson said the medal bonuses provided by the federal government will be put to good use by their athletes.

“We’re ecstatic,” she said. “We have another layer of difficulty and expense,as the equipment is often expensive and often is only overseas,or needs customisation. If you’re a vision impaired athlete the costs are double because you have a guide. These additional dollars will be really helpful.”

Paralympics Australia released a statement on Thursday afternoon responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement.

The governing body explained Paralympics Australia simply doesn’t have the cash reserves to invest in programs such as medal cash rewards.

The statement said funding is majorly spent on delivering Australian teams to Summer and Winter Paralympic Games,as well as investing in equipment,development programs,education,coaching and technological and innovation support.

In previous years,Paralympic swimmers have received medal bonuses mostly funded by Gina Rinehart,who is a major sponsor of Australia’s swim team.

Already 60 medals have been won at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games by Australia,including 13 gold.

Host nation Japan,along with a number of other countries,offer less to their Paralympians than their Olympic medallists. Japan gives their Olympians about $63,000 for gold and around $38,000 for their Para-athletes.