The two Sydney women have shared their stories in a confronting documentary about challenges facing single mothers who have been transferred from the parenting payment to the lesser Newstart allowance.

The women, who featured in 10 Stories of Single Mothers, speak of children who hide school excursion forms because they know they can't afford to go and constant worry about the effects of poverty on their children.

Terese Edwards, chief executive of the National Council of Single Mothers and their Children, said she hoped the film would raise awareness about the impact of the 2013 change which resulted in about 65,000 families losing $60 a week when they were moved to Newstart because their youngest child was aged eight or over.

"We wanted to break some of the myths and stereotypes about single mums," she said. "These women work hard, a lot of them are studying. They are trying to make a better life for their children but it's just an uphill battle."

The film, which premieres at the Chauvel Cinema on Thursday, is a joint project of the National Council of Single Mothers and Their Children, the Australian Council of Social Service, the Sydney Community Foundation, the Snow Foundation and Film Stretch.

Film maker Claire Stretch said she was shocked by the entrenched poverty among the families.

"These women were keenly aware that poverty and scarcity in childhood was going to have a knock-on effect on their kids. They really wanted to shield them from that but the fact is they have to make tough choices. Do I buy groceries or petrol this week?"

 

Penny Wilson of Warwick Farm left a difficult marriage eight years ago and is raising her two sons, aged 11 and 13, on her own. Despite mowing lawns and working in a coffee shop, she relies on her 81-year-old mother for help in funding her sons' sporting activities.

"I hate being classed as a single mum," she said. "I didn't go out and plan all this. I didn't go out and have a baby just so I could stay at home."

Like many of the women in the film, she feels punished by a welfare policy which reduces her Newstart payment even if she gets as little as two hours paid work a week.

"They are picking on the wrong people," she said. "It's about not treating people like dirt and giving them a fair go."

Wendy Tucker, a part time book-keeper, lost $170 a fortnight when she was moved from the parenting payment to Newstart. The sole carer of an 11-year-old daughter, she is working 25 hours a week in two jobs but is financially worse off.

"There is nothing on the horizon that makes me see this situation is going to get any better and I think that's the bearing down feeling I have every day," she said. "My thought process every single day is worry, worry, worry."