About this site

What this site is

Tom's Survey Notes is an independent, research-based comparison and review compilation covering paid survey panels available to Australian residents. The site exists to help Aussies understand which survey panels are documented as legitimate, which are documented as paying reasonable rates, and what to realistically expect before signing up — all sourced from publicly available materials rather than fabricated personal testimony.

The content on this site is not based on first-person testing of every panel reviewed. It is compiled from publicly available sources: panel documentation (terms of service, FAQ pages, support docs, payout rate disclosures), community discussions on Reddit and Whirlpool, sentiment data from Trustpilot Australia and ProductReview.com.au, OzBargain forum threads, and Australian Tax Office guidance for tax-related content. Every factual claim on the site is intended to be traceable to one of these sources, all of which are listed on the Sources page.

About "Tom"

"Tom" is a pen name. The site operator writes under this alias and has chosen to remain anonymous. This is a deliberate privacy decision: the operator is not a journalist, has no professional credentials in market research, and prefers to keep this commercial review project separate from their personal and professional identity. The pen name does not imply that "Tom" is a fictional character whose experiences are presented as fact — rather, it is an alias used by a real person who has chosen not to publicly attach their real name to a small affiliate-driven review site.

This is disclosed here because transparency about authorship is important. The site is what it presents itself as: an independent research-based review project written by an Australian who chooses to remain anonymous.

About the site operator

The site operator is:

• A current member of Octopus Group. This is disclosed because the site contains a referral link to Octopus Group, and that referral relationship is the only commercial interest the operator has in any panel mentioned on this site. The operator does not work for Octopus, has no contractual relationship with them beyond standard membership, and is not an official representative of the company.
• Not affiliated with any other panel mentioned on this site. The operator does not earn commission from PureProfile, Prolific, Toluna, YouGov, OpinionWorld AU, Swagbucks, AttaPoll, or any other panel discussed on the site.
• Not a journalist or accredited market research professional. This is an independent personal project, not professional journalism, and should not be treated as such.
• Not soliciting unsolicited contact. There is no published email address, contact form, or social media account associated with the site. The site is a one-way information resource.

How this site's content is researched

The methodology for compiling content on this site is consistent across pages:

1. For factual claims about a panel (pay rates, cashout thresholds, eligibility criteria, payout methods, terms of service): start with the panel's own published documentation, then cross-reference against community reports for accuracy and currency.
2. For sentiment patterns and recurring complaints: draw from volume-rated review aggregators (Trustpilot Australia, ProductReview.com.au) and recurring discussion patterns in community sources (r/beermoneyAus, r/AusFinance, Whirlpool's paid surveys threads, OzBargain's panel forums).
3. For practical advice and tips on optimisation: compile from community best practices in Reddit and forum threads, plus panel support documentation.
4. For tax, legal, or regulatory questions: defer to ATO guidance or recommend consulting a qualified professional.
5. For company verification: ABN Lookup for Australian-registered companies; basic checks of corporate identity, physical presence, and history of operation.

The full source list — every URL referenced in compiling this site — is available on the Sources page.

Editorial policy

• Sourced claims, not invented experience. Pay rates, panel mechanics, complaint patterns, and earnings ranges are sourced from publicly available information. The site does not present first-person experiential testimonials.
• Negative information is included. Trustpilot ratings, common complaints, account suspension patterns, screen-out frustrations, and other downsides are discussed honestly even for panels the site recommends. Hiding the unflattering parts would defeat the purpose of an independent review.
• No copy-paste from panel websites. All prose on this site is original. Panel websites are referenced and linked to but not reproduced.
• Marketing claims are evaluated, not repeated. Claims like "earn $100 per hour from surveys!" are explained in context (and usually deconstructed), not parroted as fact.
• Errors are corrected. If a factual error is identified through community channels (Reddit mentions, forum posts, etc.), the affected page is updated. The site does not accept unsolicited contact, but corrections will be incorporated when noticed.

Affiliate disclosure

This site contains exactly one referral link, and it is to Octopus Group. The link appears on the Octopus Group review page and is disclosed inline wherever it appears. Per Octopus Group's published Tell-a-Friend program (effective from 1 June 2023):

• The referrer (the site operator) receives $2 when a referee completes their first qualifying Campaign survey
• The referrer receives an additional $1 for each of the next 23 qualifying Campaign surveys completed by the referee
• Maximum referral commission: $25 per referred member

The referee receives no sign-up bonus from using a referral link. Standard Octopus Group membership is identical regardless of whether the referee arrived via a referral link or signed up directly. The referral commission is paid by Octopus Group from their marketing budget, not deducted from the referee's earnings.

If you would prefer to sign up to Octopus Group directly without using the referral link, the direct URL is octopusgroup.com.au. This site does not benefit financially in any way from this disclosure or from your decision either way.

The site operator has no commercial relationship with PureProfile, Prolific, Toluna, YouGov, OpinionWorld AU, Swagbucks, AttaPoll, Pinecone Research, Branded Surveys, or any other panel mentioned on this site.

Privacy policy

This site collects no information about visitors:

• No Google Analytics, no Facebook Pixel, no third-party tracking scripts of any kind
• No cookies (the site sets none)
• No JavaScript anywhere — every page is plain HTML and CSS
• No email signup forms, no popups, no newsletters
• No advertising (the site's only commercial element is the single Octopus Group referral)

The site is hosted on Cloudflare Pages, which has standard server logs (as any web host does). No information is forwarded to the site operator. If you visit this site, the operator knows nothing about you. This is intentional.

Not financial, legal, or tax advice

Nothing on this site constitutes financial, legal, or tax advice. Information about Australian Tax Office rules around survey income is general in nature, sourced from public ATO guidance, and may not apply to your specific situation. For personal financial or tax matters, consult a qualified professional. The site operator is not an accountant, financial planner, or lawyer, and the site is not a substitute for professional advice.

Independence

Tom's Survey Notes is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with Octopus Group, PureProfile, Prolific, Toluna, YouGov, OpinionWorld AU, Swagbucks, or any other survey panel, market research firm, or commercial entity. The site is operated independently by an anonymous Australian Octopus Group member as a personal research project. Any claims that this site is "official" anything, or affiliated with Octopus Group's corporate operations, are not true.

No published contact

The site does not accept unsolicited contact. There is no published email address, contact form, or social media account. Factual errors will be corrected when identified through community channels (such as Reddit or forum mentions), but the site is structured as a one-way information resource rather than an interactive blog.

Last reviewed

This page and its sources were last reviewed in April 2026.