What a nominee is
A nominee is someone who can make decisions on your behalf about:
- you as a participant
- your plan
- your NDIS supports.
A nominee isn’t paid for representing you.
Their role is to listen to your wishes and act for you.
They can also help you build your decision-making skills.
They can be someone you know
Your nominee can be someone you trust and knows you well.
This could be a family member or close friend.
You'll need to give them formal consent through a consent form.
They can be someone you don’t know
We can help you connect with a volunteer nominee, if you don’t know someone you trust to be your nominee.
Volunteer nominees get to know you and only do things you’ve asked them to do.
Ask your my NDIS contact if you need a volunteer nominee.
Tip: Nominees can’t do everything on your behalf.
Although a nominee can make decisions for you, there are still some decisions you need to make yourself.
These might include your goals and what types of providers you want to use.
What nominees are for
You’ll only have a nominee if you can’t or don’t want to make your own decisions about the NDIS.
Deciding what your nominee does
There are 2 types of nominees. They are plan nominees and correspondence nominees.
Plan nominees make decisions about your plan. Decisions can be like asking for changes to your plan, managing your funding and preparing for a new plan.
Correspondence nominees can ask for information about you or for you. They also receive the letters, emails, SMS and notices we send.
Deciding who your nominee is
You can ask us to add a plan nominee, a correspondence nominee or both.
You can have the same person as your plan and correspondence nominee or different people.
We’ll ask you about what consent you want to give your nominee. This means asking you to confirm what you want your nominee to see and do on your behalf.
We’ll ask your nominee some questions to help us work out if they’re the right person for the role. We’ll also tell them what their responsibilities will be.
You can decide how long your nominees can make decisions on your behalf for.
Helping you talk to us
You can have a nominee talk to us for you if this is hard for you.
They can take any phone calls or attend any meetings, as long as you give them consent.
Representing your needs
A nominee only represents your needs. Nominees must act in your best interests.
They don’t represent their own interests or the interests of someone else.
Their job is to listen to you, then make sure we understand what you want and try to make it happen.
Helping you to become more independent
Another role of a nominee is to help you learn how to make your own decisions.
Nominees can help you to be more confident in your own decision-making.
What working with a nominee is like
When you choose to work with a nominee and it’s time to make a decision, the nominee will:
- find out what you want to happen
- make a decision that supports your wishes and your wellbeing.
If you aren’t able to let your nominee know what you would like to happen, a nominee might:
- look back on other decisions you’ve made
- think about the experiences they’ve had with you
- talk with family members or friends who know you well.
Tip: Nominees are for participants aged 18 and over.
Participants aged younger than 18 have child representatives who make decisions on their behalf.
They are usually a parent or guardian.
Easy Read
Download nominees in Easy Read:
Our Guideline
Download the appointing a nominee guideline: