The disability sector is suffering "a silent crisis" under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), some providers have told a study released today.

National Disability Services, the sector's peak body, found there was widespread support for the NDIS, but in practice it was driving some people to ruin.

Almost three-quarters of providers said NDIS systems and processes were not working well.

The number of service providers who had discussed closing has risen in the last year to one in 10.

The Government is due to announce moves later today to tackle the problems with the system and CEOs of disability providers are gathering in Melbourne to talk about the issues.

NDIS failing to support people with disabilities get jobs

For 30 years, Melbourne-based charity Knoxbrooke has been helping adults with intellectual disabilities, but the NDIS been a blow to its finances.

Its chief executive Kristian Dauncey told AM it had accumulated an extra $1 million in debt since the scheme began.

"At the moment there's a silent crisis going on where organisations are finding they're no longer able to provide the level of support," Mr Dauncey said.

"And slowly but surely, people are finding it increasingly difficult to get access to the standard of support that they've been used to or wish to receive."

What do providers say about the last 12 months? Almost 75 per cent say the NDIS is not working well

Almost 75 per cent say the NDIS is not working well 13 per cent have considered closing (up 4 per cent from 2017)

13 per cent have considered closing (up 4 per cent from 2017) 55 per cent say operating conditions have deteriorated

55 per cent say operating conditions have deteriorated 15 per cent believe the NDIA is working well (up 7 per cent from 2017)

15 per cent believe the NDIA is working well (up 7 per cent from 2017) 28 per cent have made a loss or deficit

28 per cent have made a loss or deficit 54 per cent say they will have to reduce service quality

54 per cent say they will have to reduce service quality 63 per cent found it hard to recruit workers (up 11 per cent from 2017) Source: State of the Disability Sector Report 2018

There was also concern the NDIS was failing to support people with disabilities to get jobs.

Mr Dauncey said Knoxbrooke had jobs available at its highly successful nursery, but bureaucracy was getting in the way.

"Prior to the NDIS, it was relatively straightforward," he said.

"If we had a vacancy we'd advertise that and through the Department of Social Service we were able to fill the vacancy relatively easily.

"But what we've found with the NDIS is it's becoming increasingly difficult to the point that we now have just over 20 vacancies."

Federal Social Services Minister Paul Fletcher released a statement agreeing there was a problem with disability employment and was setting up a taskforce on the issue.

Block funding replaced by funding for individual clients

National Disability Service CEO Chris Tanti said there had been a lack of support for the sector.

"I think the issue is really about transition and organisations moving from a block funding arrangement to funding that is largely driven by the consumer, by the purchaser," he said.

"So the whole system was geared in a different direction, now it needs to move in another direction."

Mr Tanti said there were many concerns around planning, policy changes, and pricing.

"Pricing is a big one," he told RN Breakfast.

For a long period of time, the sector had received block funding.

"This enabled services to provide services outside the core business," Mr Tanti said.

"So if families were in crisis, they were able to meet those needs."

Under the NDIS, this block funding has been replaced by funding for individual clients.

"And that's great; that's what everyone wanted, everyone wanted choice for the consumer which is really important," Mr Tanti said.

"The challenge is what happens outside of those normal arrangements which cannot possibly be foreseen ... those situations where you're just not funded."

He said this was resulting in people turning up to emergency departments because there was nowhere else to turn.

Businesses hitting the wall

Source: State of the Disability Sector Report 2018 ( National Disability Services (NDS) )

The change from lump sum funding to funding for individual clients has shaken even quite big organisations.

In South Australia, Anglicare has had to make 43 positions redundant.

"Quite simply, the NDIS pricing structure doesn't fit the service models that we'd been funded by the South Australian Government to fulfil services to people with very complex needs," AnglicareSA chief executive Peter Sandeman said.

On top of unrealistic pricing, providers also need to spend money on new financial and governance systems, Mr Tanti said.

"[And] ... it's administratively complex, which you would expect in new system, and you would expect that to shift over time, but it's not happening fast enough for some services," he said.

He said some services had already gone under, especially small ones in rural communities.

"The impact to that economy, impact to that community — not just for people receiving services, but for people employed by those services — is pretty dramatic," he said.

Mr Tanti said providers were committed to their work and passionate about their clients, and to the NDIS.

"I think the issue really is that some of these problems are longstanding problems and they need to be resolved," he said.

He has proposed working with the NDIA, Government and the Quality and Safeguards Commission to work through some of these problems.

Mr Tanti is optimistic the problems can be fixed.

"We're all very invested in this and we're all very invested in consumer choice," he said.

"The solution is in collaborating around the problems and then finding solutions."