Gerard is a consumer advocate, having worked as a lawyer, policy officer, and advocate for 20 years. Gerard was the CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre, a leading consumer advocacy organisation that provides legal assistance and financial counselling, for ten years until February 2023. Gerard is a board director of both the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and was a board director of the Energy & Water Ombudsman Victoria between 2014 to 2023. In addition, Gerard is a director of Community Legal Centres Australia, the peak body for community legal centres nationally, and also the Chair of Consumers’ Federation of Australia, the peak body for consumer organisations in Australia, representing a diverse range of consumer groups, including most national consumer organisations.