Key Takeaways
A nominee in the NDIS is a person appointed to make decisions on a participant's behalf when the participant can't, or doesn't want to, make those decisions alone. The role is voluntary, decision-specific, and always meant to represent the participant's own wishes — not the nominee's.
Turning 18, an accident, a progressive condition, or simply needing extra support with paperwork can all be reasons someone looks into appointing a nominee. But the term gets confused often — with guardians, with power of attorney, with plan managers — and that confusion can lead to the wrong kind of support being set up.
This guide walks through exactly what a nominee is under Australian NDIS law, who can and can't take on the role, how to appoint one, and what changes for NDIS providers when a participant they support has a nominee in place.
A nominee is a person the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) appoints to make decisions about a participant's plan, funding, or NDIS business on their behalf. It's a form of representative decision-making, used only when a participant can't, or doesn't want to, make those decisions themselves, even with support.
The role is set out in the NDIS Act 2013 and the NDIS (Nominees) Rules 2013. A nominee is never paid for the role — it's entirely voluntary. Their job is to listen to the participant's wishes, act in their best interests, and help them build their own decision-making skills over time, so a nominee is needed less, not more.
Importantly, a nominee doesn't take over every decision in a participant's life. Things like personal goals and which providers to use are still meant to stay with the participant wherever possible.
A nominee exists to make sure a participant's NDIS business still gets done, and their wishes are still represented, when they can't manage decisions alone. The NDIA only appoints one as a last resort, after checking whether decision-making support could work instead.
The purpose isn't to remove independence — it's to protect it. A nominee is expected to involve the participant in decisions as much as possible, and to help them grow more confident making choices for themselves. Where that becomes possible, the NDIA will work with the participant to move away from having a nominee altogether.
There are two types of NDIS nominee: a plan nominee, who can make decisions about a participant's plan and funding, and a correspondence nominee, who handles letters and communication with the NDIA but can't touch the plan or funding. A participant can have one, both, or even more than one plan nominee.
| Plan nominee | Correspondence nominee | |
| Can prepare or change the plan? | Yes | No |
| Can manage NDIS funding? | Yes | No |
| Receives letters and notices? | Yes | Yes |
| Can request info from the NDIA? | Yes | Yes |
| Can be the same person? | Yes — one person can hold both roles | Yes — one person can hold both roles |
A plan nominee can make decisions about preparing or changing a participant's plan, and about managing and using their NDIS funding. A participant can limit exactly what their plan nominee is allowed to do — for example, keeping control of their own goals while letting a nominee manage funding.
A correspondence nominee can request information from the NDIA and receive letters, emails, SMS, and notices sent about the participant. They can't prepare or change a plan, and they can't manage funding — that's strictly a plan nominee's role.
An eligible nominee must be 18 or older, trusted by the participant, willing and able to carry out the role's duties, and free of any serious conflict of interest. They must also agree to the appointment in writing, and the NDIA will ask about their relationship with the participant, their understanding of the role, and any relevant criminal history.
Before appointing someone, the NDIA checks that the participant hasn't been pressured into the choice, that the proposed nominee understands what's expected of them, and that they're sensitive to the participant's cultural and language background and communication needs. Family members and close friends who already support the participant are often well placed for the role, since it can formalise support that's already happening.
A person under 18 can't be a nominee, and the NDIA itself can't be a nominee. A proposed nominee with a serious, unresolved conflict of interest, one who won't give written consent, or one the NDIA assesses as unsuitable due to relevant criminal history, also won't be approved.
One exception worth knowing: an NDIA staff member can be someone's nominee, but only because of a genuine personal relationship — such as being a family member — never as part of their NDIA job.
To add a nominee, contact the NDIA on 1800 800 110, your local area coordinator, or your planner, and provide the proposed nominee's name and contact details. The NDIA will ask you and your proposed nominee a series of questions, require written consent from the nominee, and then issue a formal instrument of appointment.
Yes. A participant can have a plan nominee and a correspondence nominee at the same time, either as the same person or two different people. The NDIA can also appoint more than one plan nominee, each responsible for different decisions — though only one can manage plan funding at any given time.
No. A nominee never personally receives a participant's NDIS funding. They can be authorised to make decisions about how that funding is managed and spent, but the money itself is still spent on the participant's approved supports — never paid to the nominee.
This is one of the most common misconceptions about the role, and it's worth being direct about: a nominee is also never paid a fee or wage for taking on the role itself. If a plan nominee is asked to account for how funding was used and doesn't respond without a reasonable excuse, that's treated as a criminal offence under NDIS law — a sign of how seriously the accountability is taken.
A nominee is a Commonwealth NDIS role created under federal law and only covers a participant's NDIS business. A guardian or power of attorney is appointed under state or territory law and can cover much broader life decisions — like health care, accommodation, or finances — well beyond the NDIS.
This distinction matters because guardianship and power of attorney laws differ from state to state, often administered through bodies like NCAT in New South Wales or QCAT in Queensland. If a participant already has a guardian or another legally appointed decision-maker whose role overlaps with NDIS decisions, the NDIA will usually work with that existing arrangement and appoint the same person as nominee, rather than creating a separate one.
A nominee makes decisions on a participant's behalf about their plan and NDIS business. A plan manager is a separate, often paid role that handles the day-to-day financial administration of a plan — like paying provider invoices and keeping records — and it's chosen as one of several ways to manage NDIS funding.
The two roles can work alongside each other. Deciding how funding is managed — including whether to use a plan manager — is exactly the kind of decision a plan nominee can be authorised to make on a participant's behalf.
A nominee must find out what the participant wants, act in a way that supports their personal and social wellbeing, and help build their decision-making skills over time. They must also disclose and manage any conflicts of interest, and respond to any information requests the NDIA sends about the participant's plan or funding.
A nominee can be appointed indefinitely or for a set period — such as six months, until a specific event like turning a certain age, or until the next plan reassessment. The NDIA reviews this with the participant and notifies both the participant and nominee in writing before the appointment ends.
The NDIA must cancel a nominee's appointment if the participant asks (for a participant-requested nominee) or if the nominee resigns in writing. It can suspend or cancel a nominee it appointed itself if there's reasonable belief the nominee is causing physical, mental, or financial harm, following a formal review process.
If a nominee's appointment is suspended, the NDIA will write to both the participant and the nominee, and may appoint someone else for a set period while it decides. Anyone directly affected by a nominee decision — the participant, the nominee, or someone who wanted the role — can ask the NDIA to review that decision.
For NDIS providers, a participant's nominee changes who service agreements, consent forms, and correspondence should go through — but it doesn't change who the actual client is. Providers still need clear, accurate records of who holds decision-making authority, and for exactly what, to stay compliant and avoid confusion during incident reporting or an audit.
A few things worth building into standard practice:
This is exactly where relying on scattered spreadsheets, texts, and email threads creates risk. Centralising participant records, consent details, and communication history in one platform — alongside rostering and time tracking — makes it far easier to answer “who's authorised to make this decision?” correctly and quickly, whether that's for a routine shift or an incident report.
A nominee is a specific, accountable, and unpaid role designed to protect an NDIS participant's interests when they need extra support making decisions — not a blank cheque of authority, and not the same as a guardian or plan manager. Getting the right type of nominee in place, with clearly documented authority, protects everyone involved: the participant, the nominee, and any provider working with them.
If you're a participant or family member weighing this up, the NDIA (1800 800 110) or your local area coordinator can talk through whether a nominee, supported decision-making, or another option fits best.
If you're an NDIS provider wanting a clearer way to manage participant records, consent, and communication when nominees are involved, feel free to call Ausvanta on +61 468 167 862, book a demo, or start a free 14-day trial to see how it fits your team.
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