Become a Centrelink nominee

You can help someone manage their Centrelink payments or services using myGov if you’re their nominee.

You don’t need to be a Centrelink customer to be a Centrelink nominee. You’ll need a Centrelink online account linked to myGov, which you can set up online.

You also need to show photo identification at a service centre, agent or access point.

What type of nominee do you need to be

There are two types of Centrelink nominees. You can be a:

  • correspondence nominee, which means you can claim and manage someone’s Centrelink payment or service
  • payment nominee, which means you’ll get someone’s Centrelink payment to use for their benefit.

The person you support should choose the best arrangement for their circumstances. You can be both types if they need help with both of these things. Or, two people can be a different type of nominee for the same person.

You can use your myGov account as a correspondence and payment nominee. The nominee arrangement will stay in place until you, or the person you support, cancels it with Services Australia.

If the person you support doesn’t want a nominee, you could become a person permitted to enquire or update. Find out about a person permitted to enquire or update on the Services Australia website.

Correspondence nominee

If you’re a correspondence nominee, some of the things you can do are: 

  • claim a payment
  • report their income
  • update their details 
  • get copies of their letters from Centrelink.

You can do these things using your own myGov account linked to Centrelink.

If you don’t have a myGov account, find out how to create one and link Centrelink.

Find out more about being a correspondence nominee when someone has asked you to deal with Centrelink on their behalf on the Services Australia website.

Payment nominee

A payment nominee gets and uses someone’s Centrelink payments on their behalf. If you’re a payment nominee for someone you must use their Centrelink payments only for their benefit. Using it for your benefit is fraud.

Find out more about being a payment nominee when someone has asked you to deal with Centrelink on their behalf on the Services Australia website.

The person you support can set up a nominee arrangement using their Centrelink online account through myGov.

You need to respond to the nominee request in your Centrelink online account in 14 days. If you don’t, the request will expire. Find online guides about how to add a nominee and respond to a nominee request on the Services Australia website.

If you both have a Centrelink account linked to myGov, you can sign in now.

If you don’t have a myGov account, find out how to create one and link Centrelink.

Find out more about becoming a Centrelink nominee on the Services Australia website.

When the nominee arrangement is set up, you sign in using your own myGov account.

Select Centrelink and choose the other person’s account. You can find their information and take actions on their behalf.

How to cancel a nominee arrangement

You, or the person you support, can cancel the nominee arrangement.

You can cancel the arrangement using the cancel nominee arrangement form on the Services Australia website.

The person you support can cancel it by:

  • using their Centrelink online account through myGov
  • calling their regular Centrelink payment line
  • visiting a Services Australia service centre.

They can find the number to call their regular payment line or visit a service centre on the Services Australia website.

Both you and the person you support will get a letter when it’s cancelled.

Services Australia may be able to help if there are safety concerns with changing a nominee arrangement. Find the number to call Centrelink or visit a service centre on the Services Australia website.

Find more about how to cancel an existing nominee arrangement on the Services Australia website.

Page last updated: 23 April 2024