The Mental Health Council of Tasmania told the Senate committee earlier this year attracting qualified staff to the state was challenging.

“A lot of people are receiving care from fly-in, fly-out locums,” chief executive Connie Digolis told the inquiry.

“We don't have that continuity of care or those important relationships being built between patients, clients and clinicians.

“We'd be on the lower end of the pay scale for attracting those staff.”

She said the federal government had mistakenly thought people who accessed certain services would be eligible to receive support under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Ms Digolis estimated at least 30 per cent of people in Tasmania who had been a part of the federally-funded would not be eligible for the scheme with a significant number of these people based in regional areas.

The report detailed concerns from state-based organisations that funding received for staff under the NDIS has been greatly reduced from the money provided for previous programs.

The Mental Health Council said this had led to a shift in the qualification levels of staff.

The report showed 50.4 per cent of Tasmanians who accessed mental health services described transport as one of the main challenges and just under half said it affected their mental health.

A Mental Health Council survey given to the committee found 74 per cent of respondents said unemployment affecting their mental health and 67 per cent identified lack of income.

Mental Health Carers Tasmania said lacking prevention and early intervention services meant people considered emergency services their only option.