Mental Health Council of Tasmania sector development co-ordinator Bree Klerck told a Legislative Council committee on Monday there were 600,000 Australians living with severe and persistent mental illness, but only 64,000 were eligible for support under the NDIS.

As the NDIS was designed to replace a number of federal and state disability programs, Ms Klerck said this left Tasmanians ineligible for the NDIS with few choices for support services.

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She said Tasmanians with a psychosocial disability were expected stringently prove the permanency of their condition.

"However, given the fluctuating nature of mental health conditions, we know that proving permanent impairment in psychosocial disability is difficult and a core barrier in gaining eligibility to the NDIS," Ms Klerck said.

She said Australian Bureau of Statistics data stated there were 43,300 Tasmanians living with some form of psychosocial disability.

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As of last year, Ms Klerck said there were 755 NDIS participants in Tasmania last year with a primary psychosocial disability.

She said another 154 Tasmanians receiving a higher level of psychosocial support through another federal government support program.

Ms Klerck said it was important that treatment of psychosocial disability was not simply left to clinical treatment, rather combined with assistance needed for recovery, quality of life, and community engagement.

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"Individuals cannot recover with clinical treatment alone, they need supports built around them," she said.

Disability Services Minister Sarah Courtney told the committee it was estimated 141,100 Tasmanians lived with a disability with 77,000 of them aged under 65 years.

She said 10,900 received support from the NDIS, of which more than 6000 were receiving support for their disability for the first time.

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The committee had previously heard from disability support organisations who feared for their future due to a loss of Information, Links and Capacity Building funding from the NDIS.

Ms Courtney said she understood the federal government was reviewing how funding might be delivered next year.

Committee chair Jo Siejka said some organisations had expressed during the inquiry their inability to apply for ILC grant funding.

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