ACT education groups have welcomed the High Court decision that ruled the funding of the school chaplains program was unconstitutional and called for the money to be redirected into secular support for students.
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ACT Council of Parents & Citizens Associations president Viv Pearce said schools "need more counsellors, not chaplains".
Currently 36 of the ACT's 86 public schools have a support worker under the school chaplains program, with 22 opting for a chaplain and 14 for a secular social worker.
The secular option was removed when the government committed another $245 million in the last budget, but that money may have to be granted to state and territory governments to spend how they wish if the federal government is to legally administer the program.
The Territory already provides school students access to counselling professionals, but ACT Education Minister Joy Burch said it would "welcome any extra funding".
"Schools should be able to choose a counsellor who suits their school community, whether they are religious or secular," Ms Burch said.
"If all public schools currently using the program continued to do so under the Abbott program, it would be up to $720,000 in extra funding for ACT public schools."
But the Australian Education Union has vowed to oppose any continuation of the chaplaincy program.
"We'll do everything we can to remind the ACT government … about the need to preserve the secular nature of public schooling," ACT branch secretary Glenn Fowler said.
"The Abbott government promised an extra loading for students with disabilities from 2015 and it failed to deliver on that promise in the budget but managed to find an extra $245 million for chaplains; we’re calling on that money now to be redirected.
"Not only for resources for students with disabilities, but for fully qualified school psychologists, counsellors and health professionals."
