What do we consider when appointing a nominee?

There are laws and rules we must follow when we decide whether to appoint a nominee for you. It’s important that you know what we think about, and how we decide if we should appoint a nominee for you. Some of the things we ask you to think about in the section Who can be your nominee are about these rules and laws.

We first assume you can make your own decisions that affect your life. You may need support to build your decision-making skills, and your skills could improve over time.

We also realise that sometimes it may be necessary to appoint a nominee to make decisions and act on your behalf.

We’d only appoint a nominee for you if it’s not possible for you to be supported to make decisions for yourself.

There are 2 ways a nominee can be appointed to act on your behalf:

  • you can ask us to appoint a nominee for you
  • we can decide to appoint a nominee for you.

If you ask us to appoint a nominee, we'll usually appoint one.

It’s only in very rare circumstances that we’d appoint a nominee for you when you haven’t asked for one. For example, if we think you need a nominee but you’re unable to ask for one, even with support. In this situation a family member, friend, or another supporter might ask for a nominee for you or they might offer to be your nominee.

The decision to appoint someone as a nominee would still need to be made by us once we have assessed all the information. We need to make sure your proposed nominee is the right person to be your nominee.

If you ask us to appoint a nominee, we need to check:

  • that no one has put pressure on you to appoint them – we’ll check with you to make sure it’s your decision, and not because you have been pressured or wrongly influenced by them
  • if there’s a conflict of interest, for example, if they’re also one of your providers.

If we think you might need a nominee, but you haven’t asked for one, we’ll look at:

  • whether we’ve discussed having a nominee with you
  • whether you’re able to communicate with us and take part in the NDIS without having a nominee appointed
  • our expectation that a nominee should only be appointed as a last resort, and with safeguards in place to protect you
  • whether you have a court-appointed decision-maker or a decision-maker you’ve appointed yourself
  • whether you have any other relationships that:
    • you could rely on to help you make your own decisions
    • could be strengthened to help you make your own decisions
    • could be improved by the appointment of a nominee.
  • your opinion, and the opinion of:
    • any person who helps you manage your day-to-day activities and make decisions
    • any court-appointed decision-maker or decision-maker you have appointed.

Learn more about what you need to do to get a nominee.

How we work with legally appointed decision makers

You might already have someone legally appointed by a government, tribunal, court or panel who helps with decisions or makes decisions for you in other parts of your life. For example, a Public Trustee, guardian, or a family member. Or you may have appointed someone yourself to make decisions for you.

If you have this type of decision-maker, we’ll discuss with them the types of decisions they already help you with. If the decisions are similar to what you would need to decide in the NDIS, we usually appoint them as your nominee. If their role is different to what you would need in the NDIS, we’ll discuss with them, in writing, if you need a nominee and who we might appoint. 

We’re responsible for making the final decision on who is appointed as a nominee under the NDIS. However, we can’t appoint your legally appointed decision maker as your nominee unless they have agreed to the nominee appointment in writing. We can’t appoint anyone as your nominee unless they agree in writing to do it.

This page current as of
28 March 2022
Indicates required field
Was this page useful?
Why?
Why not?