Conviction and $20K fine follows "serious and prolonged" offending by former podiatrist

A West Australian man, Gerard Sims, has been convicted and fined $20,000 — and ordered to pay $10,000 in costs — after, while suspended, conducting 18 consults with 11 different patients over a six-month period.

After receiving complaints about his conduct, conditions had been imposed by the Podiatry Board of Australia on Sims’ registration on 1 October 2024. The conditions prohibited Sims from practising at any location not approved by the Board and from having contact with female patients.

Ahpra, as part of its compliance monitoring, obtained information that Sims had continued practising from his home, which was not an approved practice location, and was also consulting with female patients.

To protect public health and safety, the Board suspended Sims’ registration on 10 January 2025, meaning he could not work as a registered podiatrist anywhere in Australia. However, investigations by Ahpra revealed that following the suspension, Sims conducted 18 consults with 11 different patients, eight of whom were women, over a six-month period in the first half of 2025.

There was no evidence that any patient was harmed as a result of the consultations, Ahpra said.

The court was told Sims was aware that Ahpra was investigating his conduct and, on one occasion, asked a patient not to speak to anyone asking questions about him or the treatment they had received. Sims surrendered his registration as a podiatrist in August 2025.

The offending was described by Magistrate Daniel Johnson as “serious and prolonged” and said Sims took active steps to cover up his actions by contacting patients about the Ahpra investigation. Johnson added it was in the public interest that future employers knew about Sims’ conviction.

Sims had been a registered podiatrist in Australia since February 1985, Ahpra said, also stating that the criminal charges in this case are separate to the allegations of misconduct that led to Sims being suspended in January 2025.

“It is important for patients to know that suspensions of practitioners are recorded on the Register of practitioners, and anyone can check the register on the Ahpra website to see if the health care professional they are seeing isn’t subject to disciplinary action,” Podiatry Board of Australia chair Associate Professor Kristy Robson said.

You can check the Register of practitioners here.

If you are affected by any of the issues discussed in this article, 1800RESPECT has a 24/7 support service that can help; please call 1800 737 732.

Image credit: iStock.com/Михаил Руденко. Stock image used is for illustrative purposes only.