Fly-half Carter joins his All Blacks captain Richie McCaw as a three-time recipient of the prestigious accolade, having also been named Player of the Year in 2005 and 2012,
New Zealand were named World Rugby Team of the Year after becoming the first nation to successfully defend the Webb Ellis Cup with a 34-17 defeat of Australia in Saturday's final on Saturday.
Australia coach Michael Cheika received the World Rugby Coach of the Year accolade after transforming the Wallabies in his 12 months at the helm, guiding them to The Rugby Championship title and the RWC 2015 final.
And in only his second full season - South Africa's Werner Kok was named World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year as he ended the season as the series' leading tackler.
The other nominees were Seabelo Senatla (South Africa), Semi Kunatani (Fiji).
