A woman with bipolar disorders says she feels "cheated" after discovering she is no longer able to access mental health support because her illness is not considered a lifelong disability.

Key points: About a thousand jobs will be lost in Victoria's mental health sector, Mental Health Victoria (MHV) says.

About a thousand jobs will be lost in Victoria's mental health sector, Mental Health Victoria (MHV) says. Funding has been redirected from community support programs to the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Funding has been redirected from community support programs to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The Federal Government says new funding means more patients will get help, but MHV believes 11,000 people will be left without support.

Nicci Wall is one of thousands with a mental illness who don't qualify for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Due to a funding restructure, which sees some of the Victorian funding for mental health redirected to the NDIS, money for the community-based services she relies on is running out.

Victoria's peak mental health body said community support programs were being defunded. About a thousand jobs in the community mental health sector will be lost within the next year, as tens of millions of dollars is redirected to the NDIS instead, Mental Health Victoria said.

MHV said those changes would leave 11,000 people suffering a mental illness without support from specialist health workers.

Ms Wall, from Geelong, has been coping with the wild swings of bipolar disorder for decades.

Diagnosed at the age of 35, she has been hospitalised for depression more times than she can count, and has even undergone a dozen sessions of electroconvulsive therapy.

The depression is just one end of the spectrum of her illness. There is a manic phase that is just as extreme.

"When I'm manic and I'm having hallucinations, and delusions and paranoia, I just lose all touch with reality," she said.

For years, Ms Wall relied on the support offered by the mental health services in her community, spending an hour a week with a mental health specialist, as well as sessions with a local peer support group.

"It was really important to helping me maintain some form of stability," she said.

But Ms Wall was shocked to learn she was now one of thousands of people who no longer qualified for the NDIS because she did not meet the criteria for lifelong disability.

"I felt cheated, I was angry," she said.

'Lives, jobs at risk' from funding restructure

MHV estimates only about 20 per cent of people who suffer serious and complex mental health issues have been able to qualify for the NDIS.

The chief executive of MHV, Angus Clelland, said that was putting lives at risk.

"Individuals will end up having to fall back on the emergency part of the system … and that's really the wrong message that we want to be delivering," he said.

"The ideal is that we treat and look after people in the community."

A spokeswoman for the National Disability Insurance Agency said the NDIS "was never intended to replace other government support systems, including mental health system or community-based support or treatment for people living with mental health conditions".

The spokeswoman said NDIS funding, together with additional funding committed through the Council of Australian Governments, would increase the number of people with mental health issues who were assisted.

A spokeswoman for the federal Department of Social Services said no existing client of a Commonwealth mental health service would be left without support.

"Commonwealth mental health clients ineligible for the NDIS will continue to receive similar levels of support through existing Commonwealth programs until longer-term continuity of support arrangements start at full scheme from 1 July 2019," the spokeswoman said.

MHV also warned the funding changes would see at least 1,000 specialist staff lose their jobs by the end of the 2018-19 financial year.

Government 'understands concerns' about NDIS changes

Last week's Victorian budget painted a very different picture for the sector, promising a record $705 million in mental health funding — much of it aimed at acute services.

There was also $232 million allocated to boost the number of treatment hours in community-based services.

Minister for Mental Health Martin Foley said that equated to a 20 per cent increase in community mental health service hours over the next four years.

But he acknowledged the move to the NDIS model was an issue.

"We understand there are concerns about the transfer of psycho-social mental health supports to the NDIS," he said.

Mr Foley said he has been working with the National Disability Insurance Agency to make sure people get the services they need under the NDIS.

Mental health workers facing uncertain future

The funding changes also provide a bleak outlook for specialist mental health workers.

Belinda Bruno was one of 32 staff at a St Kilda community mental health service that looks after 250 clients.

Faced with redundancy by the end of the year, and under pressure to repay her mortgage, the single mother opted to find another job on a short-term contract.

"There's no security in my current position, so I'm unsure what my future is," she said.

She said the service where she used to work was being "dismantled", and she was worried about the loss of expertise in the entire mental health sector

Ms Bruno is also concerned for her former clients.

"Having to watch them potentially become really unwell in order for them to get support — that shouldn't be happening," she said.