Welcome 2012 to the new Governments charges come into effect.

New parents and homeowners will bear the brunt of a raft of changes coming into effect for 2012 as a series of government schemes are scaled back despite the rapidly rising cost of essential utilities and services.

The state's long-suffering electricity users are to be hit by a 10 per cent rise in power prices this year -- on top of the 17.5 per cent increase in 2011 -- and water bills are set to go up by about $143 a year.

From today, new babies will earn their mothers only $5000 from the federal government, with the bonus slashed by $400 -- while state government pre-schools begin charging fees of up to $40 a day for the first time.

First-home buyers may also need to save as much as $22,490 extra to secure their dream home, with the state government's stamp duty concession on all houses under $600,000 now applying only to new properties.

Although the change will increase the pressure on those struggling to save for a deposit, the NSW Property Council said it supported the move because it would ultimately help ease supply problems throughout Sydney.

"Whatever we can do to boost supply of new homes across Sydney will only help to increase affordability," the council's executive director Glenn Byres said.

Commuters are facing a rise in the cost of weekly and monthly train tickets of about $156 across 2012.

Barry O'Farrell will need to get his act together , as he promised to deal with the cost of living in NSW, but everything is going up - most things by more than inflation.

The big ticket items promised on infrastructure need to be fast forwarded,as these have had an impact on the economy and productivity

However, there will be some winners from today with the burden to be eased on some residents as new federal government schemes increase funding to students and encourage those on disability support pensions to go back to work.

Parents with teenage children will get an increase in family tax benefits of up to $4200 a year to encourage them to stay on at school.

University students from regional and remote areas will be able to access $4000 in the first year they are required to leave home, falling to $2000 for second and third years.

The 800,000 Australians on the Disability Support Pension - about 5.3 per cent of the working age population - are set for a serious shake-up. Eligibility will now be based on what jobs a person claiming the pension can do, rather than those they can't.

"Australia is letting down people with disabilities who have some capacity to work but are instead spending years stuck on income support," federal Minister for Disability Reform Jenny Macklin has said.

It will be tougher for those under 35 to qualify, while some who have been on the pension for years will be allowed to work up to 30 hours a week.