At a press conference held to explain the federal government's changes to the Newstart allowance on Monday, Ms Macklin was asked if she could survive on $35 a day - the new rate of the benefit.
Ms Macklin responded, "I could", but the question and answer were described as "inaudible" when her office released a transcript of the press conference.
A tweet from Melbourne writer Marian Dalton challenged Ms Macklin to back up the claim.
"A proposal - let Jenny Macklin commit to living on $35 a day for a month, with no support or access to her assets," Ms Dalton said.
A spokeswoman from Ms Macklin's office said the controversial claim had not been intentionally omitted.
"The Minister's comments are a matter of public record. We provide the best quality transcripts available to us to help inform the media," the spokeswoman told Fairfax.
