Bernard was born in 1942 in Melbourne, Australia. Bernard's first work to be published was in 1981 under the pseudonym of Judy Bernard-Waite with The Riddle of the Trumpalar which was written with Judy Nunn and Fiona Waite. In 1983 she wrote her first solo book, We Are Tam, and in 1986 she, along with Nunn and Waite, wrote the sequel to The Riddle of the Trumpalar, entitled Challenge of the Trumpalar. From 1988 to 1999 Bernard wrote six more novels including The Outcast Trilogy and one piece of short-fiction which was featured in an anthology edited by Paul Collins. Book one of The Outcast Trilogy, The Outcast was a short-list nominee for the 1997 Aurealis Award for best young-adult novel but lost to Isobelle Carmody's Greylands and Eye to Eye by Catherine Jinks. During her life Bernard has travelled to many countries including Cuba where she was the first resident of New South Wales to be given a visa for Cuba.

Novels

The Trumpalar

• The Riddle of the Trumpalar (1981, as Judy Bernard-Waite) with Judy Nunn and Fiona Waite
• Challenge of the Trumpalar (1986, as Judy Bernard-Waite) with Judy Nunn and Fiona Waite

The Outcast Trilogy

• The Outcast (1997)
• The Punisher (1997)
• The Rule Changer (1998)

Other novels

• We Are Tam (1983)
• Aida's Ghost (1988)
• Dream Door of Shinar (1992)
• Jacaranda Shadow (1993)
• Deadly Sister Love (1999, as P. Scot-Bernard)
• Bladers Rule (Another Blader Gang Book) (2001)

Short-fiction

• "Spook Bus" (1997) in Shivers: A Real Corpse / Spook Bus (ed. Paul Collins)

Non-fiction

• With the Kamasutra Under My Arm: An Indian Journey (2005)

Other works

• Sex is a Deadly Exercise (1987)
• Kangaroo Kids (1989)
• A Cut-Out Model of the Sydney Opera House (198?) with Marcelle Bernard
• Monkey Hill Gold (1992)
• Jacaranda Shadow (1993)
• The Outer Space Spy (1993)
• The You Can Do It! Little Book for Busy Students (1993)
• JB and the Worry Dolls (1994)
• Monster Builder (1996)
• Duffy: Everyone's Dog (1997) with Cathy Netherwood
• No Sooks on the Starship (1998) with Nick Buttfield
• The Rule Changer (1998)
• Jumping Dogs and Jellyfish (1999) with Gus Gordon
• The Pizza Caper (1999) with Gus Gordon
• Wolfman (1999) with Gus Gordon
• The Stolen Giant Cheesecake (2000)
• Bladers Rule, or, The Stolen Bag Lady (2001)
• Dolphin Magic (2001) with Meredith Costain
• Marucs the mighty (2001) with Penny Azar
• Cool Dude and Honey Magnet (2002)
• Fords and Flying Machines: The Diary of Jack McLaren (2003)
• Splash, Dash, Smash! (2004) with Meredith Costain
• Stegosaur Stone (2004)
• The Mask (2005)
• Claw of the Dragon: The Diary of Billy Shanghai Hamilton (2008)

Source: ISFDB.org, WorldCat.org