United Nations human rights monitors have asked the Federal Government to justify its decision to cut welfare payments to single parents.

The Federal Government this year moved thousands of single parents onto the lower unemployment payment, Newstart, cutting their payments by up to $110 a week.

Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) says Australian welfare groups took their case to the UN in October last year after exhausting all options in Australia.

"We felt we now had nowhere to go," ACOSS chief executive Cassandra Goldie said.

"There was no court that we could go to in Australia and so we went to the United Nations to raise our concerns."

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She says the Government's cuts are pushing single families into poverty.

"Now we have the United Nations special rapporteur also asking the Government to account for what it's doing, so the Government must be prepared to take its obligations seriously," she said

The Federal Parliament's own human rights committee recommended the Government delay its proposed changes to single parent payments, but the Government went ahead with the plan.

The UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights and the working group on discrimination against women are warning the cuts could have a detrimental effect on the human rights of up to 100,000 Australians, and could be contrary to some of Australia's international obligations.

They say they do not wish to prejudge the accuracy of the allegations against the Federal Government, but they have publicly released their letter after waiting for more than four months to receive a reply.

The Federal Government says it is still considering the matters raised and will respond shortly.

Beth Goldblatt from the Australian Human Rights Centre says it is a wake-up call for the Federal Government.

"The Government should take it seriously," she said.

"They should be aware that it will be embarrassing and they should rethink the decision they've made around parenting payments in terms of their international human rights obligations."

'We try our best'

Kerry Arch, a single mother from Prime Minister Julia Gillard's electorate of Lalor, says she is glad UN experts are raising concerns.

"The United Nations, if they could help us reverse this, it would be much appreciated," she said.

"And it's nice to know that we do have organisations, worldwide organisations, to help us as well."

Ms Arch says she is $100-a-week worse off because of Ms Gillard's welfare changes.

"It's just a disgrace and I can't believe that she's doing this, and I can't believe that the UN even has to step in to help us," she said.

She says many single parents are working or studying, but need support to get by.

"We don't sit on our bums all day watching TV all day, which is what everyone seems to think and we just try our best," she said.

It is an issue resonating in many of the marginal seats that Labor will try to hold in this September's election.