[1] Carroll was born on 17 November 1963 in Innisfail, Queensland, to Bosnian Croat parents, Ivan and Antonia Bošnjak from Ljubuški and Trebižat, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and raised on a tobacco farm in Innot Hot Springs.

[5] Carroll joined the Queensland Police Service in 1983, working in general duties, then as a detective in the drug squad, crime operations and ethical standards.

[4] Carroll joined the new Queensland Fire and Emergency Services in December 2014 as acting commissioner,[8] and was officially appointed to the role on 1 August 2015.

[10] In October 2019 Carroll was named one of The Australian Financial Review's 100 Women of Influence in the Public Policy category.

[11] On 12 February 2024, Carroll was invited to address the Queensland Cabinet where she sought for more police powers to tackle rising crime.