How much would you pay to go to work? I am a hospital-based physiotherapist and under the new childcare subsidy scheme that begins today, I will be required to pay $45 a day to go to work.

I have one daughter in childcare, three days a week, and am on maternity leave at the moment caring for my two-month old, who will start at childcare next year when I return to work. Under the former rebate scheme, half of my family's childcare fees were subsidised by the government, up to an annual cap of $7613.

The federal government's childcare changes come into effect today. Credit:Glenn Hunt

Under the new scheme, the rebate is means-tested against the family income and once this reaches $351,248, you are no longer eligible, regardless of how much the primary carer earns. Because my partner is the main breadwinner in our family, we no longer qualify for any childcare subsidy. With the cost of quality childcare in the area we live, for both my children, I will now be paying $45 a day above my daily earnings (after tax) to go back to work and treat hospital patients.

Physiotherapists are considered essential hospital staff to expedite a patient's recovery and reduce their length of stay. We also reduce the ongoing burden of disease in the community from chronic diseases and disability. Bachelor degrees are hard to get into, requiring an ATAR above 96, and involve four years of full-time university study.