Honest notes on paid surveys in Australia

G'day, I'm Tom. I'm based in Brisbane, and I've been doing paid surveys in my spare time since early 2024.

I started because I wanted a bit of pocket money without picking up another casual shift, and I quickly figured out that most "paid survey" sites are either outright scams, pay you in worthless gift card points, or have you sitting through 30-minute questionnaires for 50 cents. A few of them are actually worth your time.

This site is where I write down what I've learnt: which sites pay real money, which ones waste your time, and what to expect before you sign up. Everything here is based on my own experience as an Aussie panel member, not affiliate listicles I copied from somewhere else.

I'm not here to hype anything. If a site sucks, I'll tell you. If a site's good, I'll tell you that too — and yes, when I link to a site I've used, sometimes that's a referral link that pays me a small commission. I always disclose this clearly on the page where it appears, and I only recommend sites I've actually used myself.

Where to start

• My Octopus Group review — the Australian survey panel I've actually made the most money from. The honest version, including the bits people don't like.
• Best paid survey sites in Australia — my comparison of the major panels available to Aussies, ranked by what they actually pay per hour of your time.
• How much can you actually earn? — the realistic numbers, not the marketing claims. Spoiler: less than the survey sites tell you, more than the cynics think.
• Are paid surveys legit, or just a scam? — short answer: some are, some aren't. Here's how to tell the difference.
• FAQ — quick answers to the questions I get asked most.

About this site

Tom's Survey Notes is an independent personal blog. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with any survey panel — including Octopus Group, the one I happen to recommend. I'm just a member of their panel like anyone else.

Some pages on this site contain referral links. If you sign up to a survey panel through one of my links, I receive a small commission from that panel based on surveys you complete. You don't pay anything extra and you don't get a sign-up bonus either way — the link just lets the panel know which member referred you. I'll always tell you which links are referral links on the page they appear on.

I don't run advertising on this site. I don't use Google Analytics or any other third-party tracking. There are no cookies, no popups, and no email signup forms. The site is hosted on Cloudflare Pages, doesn't collect any data about you, and never will.