The former footballer turned Para-alpine skier and his partner, Rae Anderson, make up an Australian development team that is set to shadow the national squad in the northern hemisphere.

"They've been doing all the risk assessment stuff and aiming to get to Europe at the start of December," Hanlon said.

"They've already sent over able-bodied athletes for snowboarding and skiing and other events... if they're going, there's a fair chance we might be. We're still planning for it."

Hanlon said he and Anderson, who met when he took up the sport in 2019 are at similar stages in the winter sports program.

Their two-person development team has just been assigned a dedicated coach, giving the athletes a key resource to guide their improvement rather than the pair leaning on the Australian staff, whose priority is those already in the national para-alpine team.

But the former ruckman has to meet a major milestone to advance his hopes of an international career as a sit-skier.

"To be on track to get to the next Games (Winter Paralympics), we have to go and get classified internationally," Hanlon said.

"We've been classified nationally but we need to do it internationally at the start of the season which is in Norway in December.

"If we don't get there for that, there's not much point going unless they put on another classification somewhere.

"You have to be classified, then we can have a crack at racing while we're there obviously, and see if we're at the right standard to be able to start racing in the World Cup and all that."

Hanlon spent months in the United States around Christmas last year and was about to return in March when the COVID-19 outbreak grounded those plans.

He managed to get his gear sent back home and then spent much of the Australian winter training with the national team on the slopes and in the gym Monday to Friday, and then getting back on the sit-ski on the weekend.

It's been all training, without competition, but he's been pleased with the progress after spending time with Australia's elite.

"Really good. I've definitely got more confident in the two different skis - the slower stuff and the quicker stuff - and just got a lot more comfortable skiing," he said.

"I've been working on a heap of different things. It was fun."

Hanlon said his progress has been helped by two scholarships this year.

He is one of six individual scholarship recipients at the local Southern Sports Academy (SSA) and received a NSW Institute of Sport scholarship earlier this year which provides coaching, nutrition, phsyio, management and organising the overseas trips.

"It's the works that they help you out with, to try to get you to the Games and get you ready for it now," Hanlon said.

He said the SSA scholarship is also a greatly appreciated support.