The Weekly understands the school - to be built at Laverton - was being signed off by the Department of Treasury and Finance as we went to press.

Education Minister Martin Dixon last week told Parliament he would "be in the area on Monday to announce the site of the new school". However, his visit was seemingly delayed. "At present, the western suburbs is the only part of Melbourne where the autism-specific school caters for only a few year levels," Mr Dixon told the house.

Western Autistic School (WAS) - which has campuses at Niddrie and Laverton - caters only for children from prep to grade 3.

Autism Schools Action founders, Altona Meadows couple Liz and Mark Websdale have two children with 'classic autism' who transferred to specialist schools after their first four years at WAS. "It is great news that finally the region will eventually have an autism specific P-12 [school]," they said in a statement. "However, a new autism specialist school, with [a] separate budget and administration from Western Autistic School, is what is needed.

Autism Schools Action believes WAS is not the right organisation to oversee the implementation of such a key part of autism education provision in the region.

"WAS is geared towards early school years and early intervention, and the school administration has expressed reservations about the appropriateness of WAS expanding into secondary school years. We agree. The numbers warrant a new school. We now know a school alone is not the answer but is one of the badly needed options for the western metropolitan region."

Action for Autism Education founders, Werribee couple Danny Sorbello and Angela Hickey-Sorbello, welcomed the news but said they were waiting on details.