Can family members be paid for care or domestic help in a NSW CTP claim?
By Herman Chan, Stephen Young Lawyers | Published 2026-05-13
Usually, a family member is not paid through NSW CTP simply because they provided unpaid help after a crash. The Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 draws a careful distinction between paid treatment and care, unpaid family attendant care, and a separate domestic services benefit where the injured person can no longer provide unpaid domestic services to dependants. General information only, not legal advice.
The short answer
If your partner, parent, adult child, or friend helped you shower, dress, cook, clean, drive, shop, supervise children, or manage the house after a NSW motor accident, that help may be very real. But the CTP scheme does not automatically turn every hour of family help into a payable claim.
Section 3.25 of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 says there are no statutory benefits for gratuitous attendant care services. In plain English, unpaid care provided to the injured person by family or friends is usually not paid as a statutory benefit just because it was provided.
That does not end the discussion. Paid commercial care, domestic help, equipment, rehabilitation, occupational therapy, and other treatment or care expenses may still be considered under the reasonable and necessary treatment and care pathway. A separate domestic services pathway may also apply where the injured person has lost capacity to provide unpaid domestic services to dependants.
The source basis, in plain English
The key NSW CTP provisions are sections 3.24, 3.25 and 3.26 of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017. Section 3.24 deals with statutory benefits for treatment and care expenses, subject to limits including whether the treatment and care is reasonable and necessary and relates to the injury resulting from the motor accident.
Section 3.25 is the important caution for family help: it says no statutory benefits are payable for gratuitous attendant care services. Gratuitous care means care the injured person has not paid for and is not liable to pay for. This is why unpaid family assistance should not be described as automatically reimbursable CTP care.
Section 3.26 is different. It concerns statutory benefits for loss of capacity to provide gratuitous domestic services, subject to the requirements in that section. That pathway is about the injured person losing capacity to provide domestic services to dependants, not a simple hourly payment to a relative for helping the injured person.
Source basis checked: Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW) ss 3.24, 3.25 and 3.26; SIRA CTP treatment and rehabilitation guidance on reasonable and necessary treatment and care related to motor accident injuries; SIRA CTP Care information on reasonable and necessary treatment and care services for long-term injuries; Personal Injury Commission medical dispute framing for treatment and care disputes.
Three different issues that are often mixed up
Unpaid family attendant care
This is help given to the injured person without payment or legal liability to pay. Examples might include a partner helping with showering, dressing, meals, transport, medication reminders, or supervision. Section 3.25 is the main warning point because NSW CTP statutory benefits are not payable for gratuitous attendant care services.
Paid treatment and care
Paid support may be considered differently if it is clinically supported, reasonable and necessary, related to the crash injury, and verified. This can overlap with rehabilitation, occupational therapy, paid attendant care, domestic assistance, equipment, or home modifications, depending on the injury and evidence.
Domestic services for dependants
Section 3.26 is not the same as family attendant care. It is directed to the injured person losing capacity to provide unpaid domestic services to dependants. The details matter, including who depended on the services, what tasks were done before the crash, and what the injury changed.
Evidence that makes a home-help request safer
The safest evidence is specific. A broad statement such as “my wife does everything now” is usually less helpful than a task-by-task comparison of what you did before the crash, what you cannot do now, who is doing it, and whether the need is supported by a doctor, occupational therapist, rehabilitation provider, or other treating professional.
Functional evidence
- GP, specialist, physiotherapy, psychology, or occupational therapy notes
- certificates of fitness or work capacity certificates
- rehabilitation plans that explain daily living restrictions
- home assessment or activities of daily living assessment, if obtained
- clear explanation of what is temporary, ongoing, improving, or deteriorating
Practical and financial evidence
- invoices for paid cleaners, carers, support workers, or transport providers
- care rosters, service agreements, or provider recommendations
- a task list showing pre-accident and post-accident household duties
- records of dependant care duties affected by the injury
- insurer decisions refusing or limiting treatment, care, or domestic help
If the insurer refuses home help
A refusal can happen for several different reasons. The insurer may say the requested service is not related to the motor accident injury, is not reasonable and necessary, is not properly verified, duplicates help already provided, or is excluded because it is unpaid family attendant care. These are different arguments and need different evidence responses.
Ask the insurer to identify the exact basis for the decision in writing. Then check whether the problem is legal classification, medical support, task detail, invoices, provider suitability, or timing. If the dispute is about treatment and care, it may connect with an internal review, a CTP dispute pathway, or a Personal Injury Commission step.
Do not overstate the claim
It is tempting to say that every hour of family help should be paid because the injury disrupted the household. That may feel fair, but it is not the safest way to frame a NSW CTP claim. The better approach is to separate what the legislation excludes from what may still be requested with proper evidence.
If you need professional paid help, ask your treating team to explain why it is needed, how it relates to the crash injury, how long it is expected to continue, and why family help alone is not an appropriate or sustainable plan. If dependant domestic services are affected, record the actual tasks, people who depended on them, and how the injury changed your capacity.
Bottom line
Unpaid family care after a NSW motor accident is important, but it is usually not payable as gratuitous attendant care under CTP statutory benefits. Paid care, treatment, domestic help, equipment, or domestic services for dependants may still need to be assessed under the correct statutory pathway and supported by clear evidence.
If the insurer has refused care, domestic assistance, equipment, or rehabilitation, the next step is to identify the exact reason, gather targeted evidence, and decide whether the issue belongs in an insurer review, medical dispute, or broader claim strategy.
Ask about a care or treatment disputeFrequently asked questions
- Can my partner or parent be paid just because they help me after a NSW crash?
- Usually not as unpaid family attendant care under NSW CTP statutory benefits. Section 3.25 of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 says statutory benefits are not payable for gratuitous attendant care services. The safer question is whether paid care, treatment, equipment, or another specific statutory benefit is available on the evidence.
- Can a paid support worker or cleaner be covered instead?
- Possibly. Treatment and care expenses can be payable where they are reasonable and necessary, relate to the injury resulting from the motor accident, and are properly verified. The insurer or CTP Care may ask for clinical support, invoices, care plans, or functional evidence.
- What is the difference between attendant care and domestic services?
- Attendant care usually means help provided to the injured person with personal care or daily living tasks. Gratuitous domestic services under section 3.26 concern the injured person losing capacity to provide unpaid domestic services to their dependants, subject to statutory conditions. They are not the same entitlement.
- What evidence helps if home help is needed?
- Useful evidence includes GP or specialist notes, occupational therapy assessment, rehabilitation provider recommendations, a task list showing what changed after the crash, invoices for paid help, and a timeline of who provided help and why it was needed.