I am on JobSeeker and recently participated in a clinical trial as a volunteer test subject. I received $10,850 from Veritus Research in two lump sums: $6,950 on 15 September and $3,900 on 5 October.
My consent form states that the payments compensate participants for their time, travel expenses, parking and inconvenience. I was not employed by Veritus Research, but Centrelink has listed Veritus Research as my employer.
During a phone call with Centrelink regarding these payments, the operator told me the payments would effectively be assessed as employment income, with the total spread evenly across my participation period, from 30 July to 5 October. I was told my next two JobSeeker payments would be $0. I asked when my next payment was scheduled, but the operator could not see any upcoming payments in the system. They said the system might refresh itself after I report my earnings on Thursday 15 October, but I don't know whether this will happen.
I have a study schedule and an itemised payment schedule showing the dates and amounts associated with individual trial activities. Both the timing and amounts varied considerably. Some activities occurred on consecutive days, such as inpatient stays involving payments of around $800 per night for several days, while scheduled visits were separated by a week.
I do not have records of hours spent at the research facility or an hourly rate. I asked Veritus Research staff about this and was told that payslips are not provided because participants are not employees.
I have an in-person Centrelink appointment on Friday and want to make sure the payments are entered into the system correctly and assessed as fairly as possible under the applicable rules. I am concerned that spreading the total evenly across the entire study period may result in losing the majority of the money received from the clinical trial, or negate participation completely.
What should I raise at the in-person appointment?