Aged Care
Managing a Parent’s Aged Care Paperwork: Centrelink Nominee, Registered Supporter and Power of Attorney Explained
When a parent starts needing aged care, the paperwork arrives quickly. There are calls with My Aged Care, forms from Services Australia, aged care agreements, bank accounts and medical decisions. Many adult children discover, often at a stressful moment, that they are not allowed to speak on their parent’s behalf, even though their parent wants them to.
The answer is usually one of three arrangements: becoming a Centrelink nominee, being a registered supporter in My Aged Care, or holding an Enduring Power of Attorney. They do very different jobs, and having one does not give you the others. Understanding the difference early can save weeks of delays when your parent needs an aged care assessment, a means assessment or a place in an aged care home. This guide explains each one, what it lets you do, and how to set it up in Queensland.
KEY 1 · SERVICES AUSTRALIA
Centrelink nominee
Deals with Centrelink payments and the aged care means assessment.
KEY 2 · MY AGED CARE
Registered supporter
Helps your parent make and communicate aged care decisions.
KEY 3 · QUEENSLAND LAW
Enduring Power of Attorney
Gives legal authority over financial, personal and health matters.
Why Families Need These Arrangements
Privacy laws mean government agencies, banks and aged care providers generally cannot discuss someone’s affairs with family members without permission. That protects older people, but it can leave families stuck. An adult child might be unable to ask Centrelink about a means assessment, talk to My Aged Care about an assessment, or sign an aged care agreement, even with their parent sitting beside them.
Each arrangement opens a different door. The best time to set them up is before they are needed, while your parent can still make these decisions. If you wait until your parent has lost capacity, some options are no longer available and the process becomes slower and more expensive.
Who Can Do What: A Side-by-Side Comparison
| Task | Centrelink nominee | Registered supporter | EPOA (attorney) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talk to Centrelink about pensions and the means assessment | ✓ | ✗ | Needs separate setup |
| Receive Centrelink payments on your parent’s behalf | ✓ payment nominee | ✗ | Needs separate setup |
| Speak with My Aged Care and receive information | ✗ | ✓ | Register with My Aged Care |
| Attend assessments and care planning meetings | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Make decisions for your parent | Centrelink matters only | ✗ supports only | ✓ within the EPOA |
| Manage bank accounts and pay aged care fees | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ financial power |
| Sell or manage property, such as the family home | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ financial power |
General guide only. Each organisation has its own rules for recognising these arrangements.
1. Centrelink Nominee: For Pensions and the Aged Care Means Assessment
Services Australia manages the Age Pension and the means assessment that works out how much your parent pays for residential aged care. A Centrelink nominee is someone authorised to deal with Services Australia on your parent’s behalf.
There are two types of nominee arrangement:
Correspondence nominee
Can enquire, receive letters and act on your parent’s behalf with Services Australia, such as completing forms for the aged care means assessment.
Payment nominee
Receives your parent’s payments into the nominee’s account, and must use them for your parent’s benefit.
How to set it up. Your parent can authorise you using the Services Australia form SU415 (Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf), or by contacting Services Australia. If your parent cannot authorise you themselves, Services Australia may ask for legal documents such as a power of attorney or guardianship order.
Your obligations. Nominees must act in the person’s best interests and tell Services Australia about changes, such as a move into aged care. Find full details on the Services Australia website.
2. Registered Supporter: For My Aged Care Decisions
Since the Aged Care Act 2024 began on 1 November 2025, the old My Aged Care “representative” roles have been replaced by registered supporters. According to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, regular and authorised representatives that were active in My Aged Care on 31 October 2025 became registered supporters from 1 November 2025, unless they opted out.
A registered supporter’s role is to help your parent make and communicate their own decisions. Having a supporter does not stop your parent from receiving information, making decisions or speaking directly with providers, My Aged Care and assessors. Your parent can also have more than one registered supporter.
A registered supporter can
- Request, access and receive information
- Help explain aged care options
- Attend assessments and meetings
- Help communicate your parent’s wishes
A registered supporter cannot
- Make decisions on your parent’s behalf
- Override your parent’s choices
- Use the role for their own benefit
How to set it up. Call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 or use your parent’s My Aged Care online account. Registering is optional. Your parent can still ask anyone they trust for help, but registering makes it clear who they want involved. Supporters must act in good faith and respect your parent’s choices, and misuse of the role can be reported to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
If your parent cannot make decisions. A registered supporter cannot make decisions for someone. If your parent has lost capacity, decisions are made by someone with legal authority, such as an attorney under an Enduring Power of Attorney or a guardian appointed by a tribunal. The Department notes that My Aged Care refers to these people as appointed decision makers.
3. Enduring Power of Attorney: For Legal, Financial and Health Decisions
An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA) is a legal document in which your parent appoints one or more trusted people, called attorneys, to make decisions for them. In Queensland, it can cover financial matters, such as bank accounts, bills, aged care fees and property, and personal and health matters, such as where to live and health care.
It is called “enduring” because it continues to work if your parent loses the capacity to make decisions. That is the key difference from a general power of attorney, which stops if the person loses capacity.
| General power of attorney | Enduring Power of Attorney | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | Financial matters only | Financial, personal and health matters |
| If capacity is lost | Stops working | Continues to work |
| Best for | Short-term help, such as while travelling | Long-term planning for ageing and aged care |
How to set it up in Queensland. Use the official Queensland Government EPOA forms, available free online. There is a short form and a long form. Your parent must have capacity to make the EPOA, and it must be signed in front of an eligible witness, such as a justice of the peace, a commissioner for declarations, a lawyer or a notary public. Witnessing by a justice of the peace is free, while lawyers charge for advice and preparation.
When it starts. Your parent can choose when financial powers begin, such as straight away or only if they lose capacity. Powers for personal and health matters only start if your parent loses capacity for that decision.
If there is no EPOA. Queensland law allows a statutory health attorney, such as a spouse, an unpaid carer or a close relative or friend, to make health care decisions. For financial and other decisions, the family may need to apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) for an administrator or guardian, which takes time. For health care wishes, see our guide to advance care directives.
Which Arrangements Does Your Family Need?
- Your parent needs help with Centrelink or the aged care means assessment: Centrelink nominee
- Your parent wants you involved in My Aged Care calls, assessments and choosing services: Registered supporter
- You need to manage money, pay fees, sign agreements or plan for loss of capacity: Enduring Power of Attorney
- Your parent is moving into residential aged care: Usually all three
AGED CARE PAPERWORK FOLDER: Keep copies of these together, and give the aged care home copies of the relevant documents:
- Enduring Power of Attorney
- Advance Health Directive
- Centrelink nominee confirmation
- My Aged Care ID and supporter details
- Aged care assessment outcome letter
- Means assessment letter
- Medicare and pension or health care cards
- Will and the executor’s contact details
A Simple Order to Set Things Up
If your parent is starting to need more help, this order works well for most families:
1. Talk with your parent about what they want and who they trust, while they can clearly express their wishes.
2. Make the Enduring Power of Attorney and, if wanted, an Advance Health Directive, because these depend on your parent having capacity.
3. Register as a supporter with My Aged Care before the aged care assessment, so you can help through the process.
4. Set up the Centrelink nominee arrangement before the means assessment, so you can complete forms and answer questions.
5. Tell the bank and other organisations about the EPOA, and keep certified copies handy.
When Your Parent Moves Into an Aged Care Home
Moving into residential care involves several agreements, including a service agreement and, for permanent care, an accommodation agreement. If your parent can make their own decisions, they sign these themselves, with your support if they wish. If they cannot, the person with legal authority, usually their attorney under an EPOA, signs on their behalf.
The home will also ask who to contact about care, health changes and fees. Make sure the home knows who your parent’s attorney is, who their registered supporters are, and who should be called in an emergency. Give the home certified copies of the EPOA and any Advance Health Directive so staff can follow your parent’s wishes.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Waiting too long. An EPOA can only be made while your parent has capacity. Once capacity is lost, the family may need to go through QCAT.
Assuming one arrangement covers everything. Being an attorney does not automatically make you a Centrelink nominee or a registered supporter. Each organisation needs to be told separately.
Forgetting other organisations. Banks, Medicare and the Australian Taxation Office each have their own processes for recognising someone acting on another person’s behalf.
Not talking it through. Discuss your parent’s wishes openly, and make sure all family members know who has which role. Clear conversations now prevent disputes later, and they make sure your parent’s wishes are understood by everyone who may need to act for them.
Help With the Move Into Aged Care
Superior Care Group is a family-owned aged care provider that has cared for older Queenslanders for over 45 years, with residences at Wellington Point and on the Gold Coast. Our admissions team regularly helps families understand what paperwork is needed before moving in. Read our aged care admission documents checklist and guide to the aged care resident agreement, or call us with your questions.
Questions about moving in?
Wellington Park (07) 3822 1876 · Merrimac Park (07) 5618 1111
Sources: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing: Registered supporters in aged care · Transition arrangements for registered supporters · Services Australia · Queensland Government. General information only, not legal advice. For advice about your situation, speak with a lawyer.
