The Federal Government is being urged to reverse its extension of the welfare wait time for new migrants, with warnings it will create further poverty for people trying to move away from it.

Newly-arrived migrants will have to wait three years instead of two in order to be eligible for welfare payments like family tax, parental leave, and carers' allowance.

"I don't think this is fair... it's just like telling a baby who was born today to start walking on their own, you need to train that baby to walk and when they can reach a walking age they can walk on their own," Sudanese migrant, Stephen Okot said.

"It's just like telling a migrant who has come to a new environment, a new country... 'from now on you need to start working and contributing to this society'."

The change is slated to save $1.2 billion and was announced as part of the Federal Government's new savings measures.

"If you remove all of those resources from [new migrants] then particularly if they've come from a place where poverty is very extreme, you're putting them into a situation where you've added more trauma to their living environment," Mr Okot said.

The Migration Council Australia warned the measure will further reduce the representation of migrants, especially female newcomers, in the Australian workforce.

"Support in those first few years is really important in setting the pathway for lifelong contribution," council CEO Cara Wilshire said.

"Female participation in the workforce is critically important in those first years and paid parental leave is part of that process... the migration program is generally a young cohort and there are a lot of young children who will be affected by these changes."

'Is this the kind of community we want?'

The Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) said 50,000 migrant families will be impacted by the change.

"We're really disappointed in this policy... when a recent migrant loses their job they'll be unsupported, if a child becomes gravely ill and they have to take time off from their job to care for them they won't be supported to do so," Edwina McDonald from ACOSS said.

"If you're in financial need you should be able to access income support... we have to ask the question, 'is this the kind of community we want where we're unwilling to support people in genuine need in order to deliver a tax cut in an election year?'."

Social Services Minister Christian Porter said new migrants need to contribute to Australia before being eligible for welfare payments.

"I suspect many Australians would be surprised to learn that for a number of welfare payments, new migrants can currently, immediately access some payments," he said.

"These measures... will reinforce the foundational principle that Australians' expectation of newly-arrived migrants is that they contribute socially and economically for a reasonable period before having access to our nation's generous welfare system."

However, the Migration Council said the contribution of newcomers to Australia needed to be looked at over a lifetime.

"People who come to Australia are coming to settle here for decades and their contribution will be measured in decades not in years," Ms Wilshire said.

"We need to make sure that we support them properly in those first few years so their contribution can be a lifelong one."