Family Communication Form
About the Family Communication Form
A digital family communication form for educators to document observations, incidents, or concerns and formally communicate them to families. This form captures the circumstances, description, and actions taken, with a multi-step signing workflow requiring responsible person review and parent acknowledgement. Supports compliance with Regulation 86 for timely parent notification and Regulation 168 for documentation of interactions with children.
Also called
- Parent communication form
- Family feedback form
- Parent message form
What's on this form
Every question included in the family communication form. Add, remove or reword any of them in the form builder.
Step 1 — Completed first
Filled in by the educator or responsible person
Child
Child details
Circumstances leading up to incident
Long answer
What happened / Description of incident
Long answer
Action taken
Long answer
Educator / Person Completing Form
Educator signature
Step 2 — Responsible Person
Completed by a staff member at the service
Responsible Person Details
Educator signature
Step 3 — Parent / Guardian
Sent to the parent or guardian to sign
Parent/Guardian Acknowledgement
I have been notified of the above communication regarding my child.
Parent/Guardian Signature
Signature
How this form gets signed
This template runs as a multi-step signing workflow. Each person is notified in turn, and every signature is timestamped and stored against the record.
- 1
Responsible Person
Signs inside the service, using a staff PIN
- 2
Parent/Guardian
Signs externally — receives a secure link by email, no account needed
Australian regulations this form supports
The family communication form is built around the Education and Care Services National Regulations. These are the regulations it helps you meet.
Policies and procedures — interactions with children
The service must have policies and procedures in relation to interactions with children, including the matters set out in Regulations 155 and 156.
Read the full text of Reg 168(2)(j)
The approved provider of an education and care service must ensure that the service has policies and procedures in relation to interactions with children, including the matters set out in regulations 155 and 156.
Provided for information only and may not reflect the latest amendments. Refer to the Education and Care Services National Regulations (NSW) for the official legal text.
Where this form fits
The family communication form is part of these jobs — each guide walks through the whole sequence and the other forms that go with it.
Daily records: what educators fill in as things happen
The records your staff complete during the day — incidents, illness, medication given, and observations of children’s learning.
Forms your educators fill in
The records staff complete — incidents and illness, medication given, observations, safety checks and transport.
Questions about the family communication form
What is the family communication form used for?
A digital family communication form for educators to document observations, incidents, or concerns and formally communicate them to families. This form captures the circumstances, description, and actions taken, with a multi-step signing workflow requiring responsible person review and parent acknowledgement. Supports compliance with Regulation 86 for timely parent notification and Regulation 168 for documentation of interactions with children.
Who fills in the family communication form?
The family communication form is completed by educators or the responsible person at the service. Staff open it on any device and sign with a service PIN, so there's no separate login to manage. It then moves through 2 signing steps — Responsible Person and Parent/Guardian — with each signature timestamped against the record.
Which Australian regulations does the family communication form meet?
It is built around Reg 168(2)(j) of the Education and Care Services National Regulations. Reg 168(2)(j) covers policies for interactions with children. Every question the regulations require is already on the form.
Is the family communication form the same as a parent communication form?
Yes. Different services use different names for this form — it is also called parent communication form, family feedback form and parent message form. They all describe the same record, and this template covers it. You can rename it to whatever your service already calls it.
Can I change the questions on the family communication form?
Yes. The template comes with 9 fields ready to go, but you can add, remove, reword or reorder anything in the drag-and-drop form builder, and add your own conditional logic and signing steps. Your changes only affect your service's copy.
Is the family communication form free?
Yes — the family communication form is free to use on the Childcare Forms free plan. No credit card is required to create an account and start sending it.
Ready to use it?
Create a free account, change anything you want, and send it to your first family. No credit card needed.