Business confidence among disability services has slumped 18 months into the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), a new report has found.

Key findings of the report 57 per cent of disability service providers predict they will not be able to meet demand for services in 2018

57 per cent of disability service providers predict they will not be able to meet demand for services in 2018 68 per cent say they will not be able to provide services at current NDIS prices

68 per cent say they will not be able to provide services at current NDIS prices 75 per cent find the policy environment uncertain

75 per cent find the policy environment uncertain 57 per cent are experiencing difficulty recruiting disability support workers

Demand for services is growing rapidly as more people sign up for the NDIS but problems with implementing the scheme are discouraging service providers from investing in growth.

The State of the Disability Sector Report 2017, released by the peak body National Disability Services, found 58 per cent of providers were planning to expand their services in the coming year, down from 68 per cent two years ago.

"There's been a dampening of business confidence at a time when it needs to grow," National Disability Services chief executive Ken Baker said.

"Unless the service sector grows at the same rate, people will have support plans but no services."

The report found many providers were worried about their financial condition, with only 40 per cent rating their finances as "strong" or "very strong" — down from 53 per cent last year.

One in four companies are operating at a loss and one in five are considering getting out of the sector.

One in ten companies have already considered closing altogether.

Mr Baker said most services support the NDIS but 18 months into the scheme, delays and red tape have left them frustrated and out-of-pocket.

"I think it's completely untenable for not-for-profit organisations — many of them barely scraping through," he said.

"It's really unfair to expect them to be absorbing the costs imposed upon them by flaws and faults within the NDIS systems."

Charity out of pocket by $170,000 a week

Anne Bryce is CEO of Achieve, a charity with a $40 million annual turnover that operates about 60 disability services supporting more than 700 clients.

About 50 of those clients have plans caught up in the NDIS bureaucracy.

Achieve is continuing to provide services to those clients but the business is not being paid.

"It means you're actually having to effectively bankroll the Commonwealth Government," Ms Bryce said.

Over the past four months, the organisation has been left out of pocket to the tune of $170,000 a week.

"That's a pretty big ask of a charitable organisation, to step up to $170,000 a week and [with] no line of sight of when you're actually going to get paid," she said.

"The Commonwealth knows that disability providers are not going to step away from delivering services to people."

The disability sector's peak body said the system had struggled to cope with a rapid increase in the number of people signing up for the scheme since July 2016.

"The disability services sector is keen to work with the NDIA to fix the problems and get the scheme on track," Mr Baker said.

"We are determined to see the NDIS succeed. Too much is at stake to let it fail."

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) said it was committed to working with partners while they transitioned and to support the growth of the support service market.

"As part of the NDIA's role as market steward, the NDIA will continue to actively monitor and analyse the growth of the disability services market, and work with providers, to help all NDIS participants access quality support services," a spokesperson said.

The NDIA said the number of providers approved to provide services under the NDIS had almost tripled in the past 12 months alone — growing from 3,696 providers in September 2016 to 10,507 by September 2017.