Disability cut 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'

Australians set to be cut out of the disability support pension will lose $170 a week and risk becoming homeless under a new budget measure, advocates warn.

The federal government will pay for funds to lock-in savings for the national disability insurance scheme by shifting thousands from the more generous welfare payment and onto unemployment benefits.

"It's robbing Peter to pay Paul ... those people are potentially spiralling into crisis and homelessness," People with Disability Australia chief Craig Wallace told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.