English Language Course found to be Rehabilitation

In Brief

A claim for an English language course falls within the definition of “rehabilitation” and “education and vocational training” and, therefore, constitutes a claim for “treatment and care” as defined by section 1.4 of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (MAIA).

Facts

The decision in Perez v AAI Limited t/as AAMI [2026] NSWPIC 264 was delivered on 29 April 2026 and published on 29 May 2026.

The Claimant was injured in a motor accident, at Mascot, on 24 October 2023. He sought to recover the cost of an English language course from the CTP Insurer as a treatment and care expense. The Insurer declined the request on the grounds that the language course was not a form of rehabilitation or treatment because it did not aim to rehabilitate any injury sustained in the accident. Furthermore, the course was designed to give the Claimant a skill he did not possess prior to his accident.

The dispute regarding whether the English language course fell within the definition of “rehabilitation” and, therefore, within the definition of “treatment and care” was referred to a PIC Member for resolution as a Miscellaneous Assessment matter.

It was not the PIC Member’s role to decide whether the English language course was reasonable and necessary and related to an injury sustained in the motor accident.

Relevant Definitions

Section 3.24 of the MAIA states, in general terms, that an injured person is entitled to statutory benefits for treatment and care provided to the injured person, provided the treatment and care is reasonable and necessary and related to the injuries sustained in the motor accident.

Section 1.4 of MAIA provides a definition of “treatment and care“, which includes an exhaustive list of eleven types of treatment and care. One of those items is “rehabilitation“ and another is “education and vocational training“.

Section 1.4 of MAIA defines “rehabilitation” as “the process of enabling or attempting to enable the person to attain and maintain—

(a)  the maximum level of independent living, and

(b)  full physical, mental, social and vocational ability, and

(c)  full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life”

The Member’s Decision

The Member determined that the English language course fell within the statutory definition of “rehabilitation” for the following reasons:

• Pursuant to the definition in s 1.4, “rehabilitation” is a “process” which aims to allow an injured person to “attain and maintain” their independence and “full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life.
• The definition of “rehabilitation” does not focus on a particular injury or injuries but, instead, focuses on the impact of the injury or injuries on the particular injured person.
• Where a labourer loses their capacity for labouring work as a consequence of their injuries, a course to help them acquire the skills to work in an office would, undoubtedly, be considered rehabilitation. By analogy, an English language course is rehabilitation for an injured person who does not speak English well before the accident but will need to improve their English to compete for office jobs post-accident. In both instances, the injured person is being taught a new skill to help them retrain for vocational options which are within their capacity post-accident.

The Member noted that a claim for an English language course might also fall within “education and vocational training” which is one the eleven examples provided in the definition of “treatment and care” in s 1.4.

The Member, therefore, concluded that the claim to recover the cost of the English language course was a claim for “treatment and care”, as defined by s 1.4.

Why This Case is Important

The decision in Perez is another decision which confirms that the concept of “rehabilitation”, as defined by s 1.4 of MAIA, extends beyond services provided by a rehabilitation provider.

It is important to note, however, that the Member’s function was limited to deciding whether the claim to recover the cost of the English Language course was a claim for “rehabilitation”.

Whether the specific claim for an English language course was reasonable and necessary, in the circumstances of this particular claim, and whether it related to an injury sustained in the motor accident was a matter for a subsequent medical assessment.