Appointed as a Centrelink nominee: what each role allows

You have been appointed as a Centrelink nominee

A Centrelink nominee acts for someone in their dealings with Centrelink: a correspondence nominee handles their Centrelink business, and a payment nominee receives their payments and must use them only for that person’s benefit. One person can hold both roles, and the person being helped must authorise the arrangement.

Services Australia groups these under the name acting arrangements, alongside two lighter ones: a person permitted to enquire, and a person permitted to update. Each one gives a different reach, and different duties.

§1The four arrangements

Services Australia sets the reach of each arrangement as follows (summarised).

Acting for someone with Centrelink, as at October 2026
Arrangement	Can	Cannot, or must
Correspondence nominee	Ask about the person’s payments and services, aged care costs included; report changes; answer requests for information; update income and assets; fill in and sign forms and statements; get copies of their aged care cost letters; claim payments and services for them.	Must report a change in their own or the person’s circumstances within 14 days (28 days if outside Australia), and any change that affects their ability to act.
Payment nominee	Receive the person’s Centrelink payments.	Must use the payments only for the person’s benefit, keep records of how the money is spent, and report any change that affects their ability to act.
Person permitted to enquire	Ask about the person’s payments and aged care costs, and why a payment has stopped and what to do.	Cannot make updates to their payments and services.
Person permitted to update	Ask about payments and aged care costs, report a change in circumstances, and give information to update payments and services.	Cannot make decisions for the person.

Acting for someone with Centrelink, as at October 2026

Arrangement

Can

Cannot, or must

Correspondence nominee

Ask about the person’s payments and services, aged care costs included; report changes; answer requests for information; update income and assets; fill in and sign forms and statements; get copies of their aged care cost letters; claim payments and services for them.

Must report a change in their own or the person’s circumstances within 14 days (28 days if outside Australia), and any change that affects their ability to act.

Payment nominee

Receive the person’s Centrelink payments.

Must use the payments only for the person’s benefit, keep records of how the money is spent, and report any change that affects their ability to act.

Person permitted to enquire

Ask about the person’s payments and aged care costs, and why a payment has stopped and what to do.

Cannot make updates to their payments and services.

Person permitted to update

Ask about payments and aged care costs, report a change in circumstances, and give information to update payments and services.

Cannot make decisions for the person.

§2The payment nominee’s records

Of the four, the payment nominee carries the heaviest duty, because the money passes through their hands. Services Australia can ask to see spending records at any time; a nominee is legally required to hand them over when asked, and can be fined for not doing so. A simple discipline covers it:

Every payment received is spent for the person, and only for the person.
There is a record of how the money is spent.
The records are kept ready to produce, since a review can come at any time.
Anything that changes your own ability to act is reported to Services Australia.

§3How the appointment is made, and ended

A nominee arrangement is set up jointly, by the person and their nominee together. There are two ways in:

Online. If both people have a Centrelink online account linked to myGov, the person being represented sends a request online. The nominee then has 14 days to respond to it.
On paper. The form called Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf is completed and sent in as it directs. An individual nominee proves their identity by showing photo identification, such as a current Australian driver licence or passport, at a service centre or an agent or access point.
Confirmation. Services Australia writes to both people once the arrangement is in place.

An organisation acting as nominee needs a Provider Digital Access (PRODA) account for the online nominee services.

Ending it is simpler. A nominee arrangement can be cancelled at any time, with the Cancel nominee arrangement form, by calling the regular payment line, or at a service centre, and both people are told in writing. The two lighter arrangements are set up with the same authorising form, or by the person themselves by phone or in person, and can be cancelled at any time through the regular payment line or at a service centre.