What is in this guide
- 1. Choose one place for the current version
- 2. Give each contact a role and a useful number
- 3. Make an account index with clear ownership
- 4. Keep credentials and unnecessary identifiers out
- 5. Share only the section each person needs
- 6. Try an ordinary task from another device
- 7. Set review triggers before you finish
Create one shared directory with two sections: people to contact and household accounts to find. Record each contact’s role, each account’s responsible adult and where the current paperwork lives. Give access deliberately, keep passwords out of the list, and check that another adult can actually use it.
The point is to answer ordinary questions: which number do I call about an absence, who manages the internet account, and where is the latest bill? Use this shared family contacts list checklist to build a small working directory before adding every name you have ever saved.
1. Choose one place for the current version
- Choose a shared document, spreadsheet or contact tool that the adults involved already know how to open.
- Give it a plain name, such as “Household contacts and accounts”.
- Agree who can edit it and who only needs to read selected details.
- Add a last-checked date and name a person to organise the first review.
A spreadsheet suits repeated fields and sorting. A document suits a shorter list with explanatory notes. Paper can work for a limited contact sheet, but changes need to reach every copy. Choose around how people will use it rather than how polished it looks.
If you already have a family command centre, put a note there explaining where the directory is kept. Display only the everyday contacts you are comfortable leaving visible to visitors. Keep account information in the more restricted version.
2. Give each contact a role and a useful number
Start with these groups, leaving out any that do not apply:
- School office, preschool or childcare centre, and outside school hours care.
- Adults involved in pickups or regular care, with their agreement.
- Sport, music and other activity organisers.
- Regular household services, such as a property manager or building manager.
- Family service contacts, such as the usual clinic or veterinary practice.
For each entry, record the organisation or person’s name, their role, the relevant phone number, an email address if useful, and when you checked it. Add a short practical note only where it changes what someone should do: “school office for absences” is more useful than an unexplained mobile number.
Check public service numbers against the organisation’s own information. Ask private contacts which details they are happy to have included and who may see them. Do not copy an entire class-parent chat into a household directory.
3. Make an account index with clear ownership
List services the household needs to identify: electricity, gas if connected, water where relevant, internet, mobile plans and household subscriptions. Add other providers only when the entry has a practical purpose.
Use a separate row for each service. Two mobile plans with the same provider may have different account holders, so the provider’s name alone is not enough.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Service and provider | Enough detail to distinguish the account |
| Account holder | The person named on the account |
| Admin owner | The adult who normally handles enquiries or changes |
| Contact route | Customer service number or where to find the provider’s contact details |
| Account reference location | Where an authorised person can find the bill or reference |
| Current documents | Folder or filing location for the latest paperwork |
| Access note | Separate authorised access confirmed, not arranged, or still to check |
| Last checked | Date the row was reviewed |
The account holder and admin owner may be different people. Recording both helps another adult understand whom to ask, without assuming either person can act for the other.
4. Keep credentials and unnecessary identifiers out
Do not add passwords, PINs, security answers, recovery codes or photographs of identity documents. For this directory, a note showing where an authorised adult can find the account reference is preferable to copying every full number into another file.
Australian Signals Directorate guidance describes password managers as tools for creating, managing and storing passwords. It also says not to share the password manager’s master passphrase. Keep the directory focused on finding services and responsible people, with credentials handled separately.
Where another adult needs to manage a service, check the provider’s own authorised-user process. Until that is confirmed, mark the access field “not arranged”. A name in this list does not establish permission to use an account.
Use the directory to point to your family paperwork system, rather than copying statements and certificates into it. That keeps the contact index small and avoids turning it into a second document archive.
5. Share only the section each person needs
- Agree which adults need the full directory.
- Give occasional carers a shorter contact sheet containing relevant numbers.
- Check who can view, edit and reshare the file in your chosen tool.
- Remove former helpers when their involvement ends.
A grandparent doing school pickup may need the school office number and the parents’ current numbers. They may have no reason to see electricity-account information or subscription details.
For separated households, decide explicitly which entries belong in a shared version. Keep private household accounts separate unless the people involved agree otherwise. Avoid notes containing sensitive family circumstances when a role and contact number will do.
6. Try an ordinary task from another device
Ask another adult to open the directory using their own access and find the school office number, the internet provider and the location of a current bill. This is a practical access rehearsal, not a reason to log into someone else’s account.
Fix what gets in the way. Perhaps the invitation went to an email address they rarely use, the folder name is unclear, or a row says “ask me” where it should identify a document location. Check a paper contact sheet against the current version too.
Keep dates and appointments in your shared family calendar. The directory answers who to contact and where to look; the calendar holds when something needs to happen.
7. Set review triggers before you finish
Update an entry when a provider changes, a child changes school or care, a contact changes their number, or an adult takes over an admin task. As an editorial starting point, schedule a check at the beginning of each school term, or every three months if term dates are irrelevant to your household.
During that check, remove unused entries, confirm access and replace any outdated printed copies. Leave a short note naming who checked the list and when. An unchecked detail should be marked as needing confirmation rather than presented as current.
Start now with the school office and one household provider. Complete their fields, share the directory with the intended adult and check it opens from a second device before expanding the list.
How we checked this
Reviewed on 11 October 2026. The credential-storage boundary was checked against Australian Signals Directorate password-manager guidance. The fields, sharing choices and review routine are Dovelyne editorial suggestions, with no app testing or claim that this directory grants account access.
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