Nominee

What is an NDIS nominee?

An NDIS nominee is a person the NDIA appoints to act on behalf of an adult participant, or to receive their NDIS correspondence, when the participant can't or doesn't want to make those decisions themselves, even with support. There are two types: a plan nominee and a correspondence nominee. A nominee is a last resort, the role is unpaid, and the nominee must act on the participant's wishes and wellbeing.

Nominees are set up under Part 5 of the NDIS Act 2013 and the Nominees Rules. The NDIA says it will only appoint a nominee if it's the only option to make decisions about the participant's NDIS business (What is a nominee). Nominees apply to participants aged 18 and over; for children, a child representative (usually a parent) fills a similar role.

People use the word nominee in a few ways:

• Plan nominee: can make decisions about the plan, such as asking for changes, managing funding and preparing for a new plan.
• Correspondence nominee: can ask for information about or for the participant and receives the NDIS's letters, emails, SMS and notices — but can't make plan or funding decisions.
• "Nominee" in provider paperwork: often used loosely for any family member or representative. That loose use causes mistakes, because only an NDIA-appointed nominee has the legal authority.

Plan nominee vs correspondence nominee

The two types differ in what they are allowed to do. In short: a correspondence nominee communicates; a plan nominee decides.

If the NDIA asks for a statement of how a participant's funds are being used, the plan nominee must respond to that notice. When a participant has a correspondence nominee, notices go to that nominee (NDIS nominee fact sheet).

How a nominee is appointed

There are two ways a nominee can be appointed: the participant asks the NDIA to appoint someone, or the NDIA decides to appoint someone on its own initiative. Before appointing at the participant's request, the NDIA checks that it is the participant's decision and that they haven't been pressured.

When the NDIA considers appointing a nominee on its own initiative, it looks at things like whether the appointment was discussed with the participant, whether the participant can communicate with the NDIA and take part without a nominee, and what safeguards are needed (Our Guidelines: do you need help to make your NDIS decisions?). Where a participant already has a court- or tribunal-appointed guardian and the NDIA decides a nominee is needed, the presumption is that the guardian will be appointed.

What a nominee must do

Nominees have legal duties under section 80 of the NDIS Act and the Nominees Rules. According to the NDIA's Our Guidelines on nominee duties, a nominee must:

1. Find out the participant's wishes, or work out what the participant would want, and act on them.
2. Act in a way that promotes the participant's personal and social wellbeing.
3. Talk with other people in the participant's life before making NDIS decisions, where appropriate.
4. Build the participant's capacity to make decisions, ideally to the point where they can make them themselves.
5. Tell the NDIA about any conflict of interest — for example, being paid to provide the participant with services — and explain how they will manage it.
6. Tell the NDIA as soon as practical about changes that affect their ability to act as nominee, receive notices or comply with them. Not doing so can attract a civil penalty under NDIS laws.

Nominee vs guardian, child representative and informal supporter

These roles are often confused, and the difference decides who can sign what.

A key point: guardians are not automatically NDIS nominees. Guardianship is authority given under state or territory law. There is no automatic process for a guardian to become a nominee; the NDIA has to appoint them. Equally, a nominee appointment gives no authority outside NDIS business — it doesn't let someone make medical, legal or accommodation decisions under state law.

For children, the person or persons with parental responsibility are usually the child representative automatically. That role ends on the participant's 18th birthday (child representatives fact sheet). If the young adult can't make decisions even with help, the NDIA may look at appointing a nominee, but only in limited circumstances. Planning this transition early avoids a gap in who can make decisions.

The NDIA's Supported Decision Making Policy sets the starting point: people should be supported to make their own decisions wherever possible. Supported decision-making keeps the participant as the decision-maker, with help from people they trust; a nominee replaces their decision only where that isn't possible.

Changing, suspending or cancelling a nominee

• Participant-requested appointments: if the participant asks for a nominee appointed at their request to be cancelled, the NDIA must cancel it.
• NDIA-initiated appointments: if the participant asks for an NDIA-initiated appointment to be cancelled, the NDIA has 14 days to decide (Our Guidelines: cancelling or suspending a nominee).
• Suspension or cancellation by the NDIA: the NDIA can suspend or cancel an appointment, for example if the nominee isn't meeting their duties.
• Reviews: decisions to appoint, suspend or cancel a plan or correspondence nominee can be reviewed, and then taken to the Administrative Review Tribunal.

What providers need to do

Providers deal with nominees most often at intake, in service agreements and when consent is needed. Practical rules:

• Verify the authority and its scope. Ask whether the person is a plan nominee, correspondence nominee, child representative or guardian, and record it. A correspondence nominee can't sign a service agreement that commits plan funding.
• Still involve the participant. Ask the participant first, even when a nominee is involved, and record how their views were sought. The free service agreement generator has fields for the participant and their representative.
• Update records when arrangements change. Nominee appointments end, child representatives stop at 18, and guardianship orders expire. Re-sign agreements when the decision-maker changes.
• Watch for conflicts. If a nominee is also your staff member or is paid by you, that is a conflict of interest they must declare to the NDIA, and you should manage it under your own policies.
• Self-managed claims. When a plan nominee self-manages the funds, invoice the nominee as instructed and keep records that match the plan.

Common mistakes

• Treating every family member as a nominee. Only an NDIA appointment creates a nominee.
• Letting the nominee speak over the participant. The nominee's job is to follow the participant's wishes and build their decision-making, not replace their voice.
• Assuming a guardian can sign NDIS forms. Not as an NDIS nominee unless the NDIA has appointed them.
• Forgetting the 18th birthday. A parent's child-representative authority ends automatically.
• Paying a nominee for being a nominee. The role is voluntary.