His mother, Mona Abdullah, was one of the Stolen Generations of Aboriginal children removed from their parents and relocated to Roelands, where she met her husband Don.

His mother has Wongi and Noongar ancestry,[3] while her surname, Abdullah, is from an ancestor who migrated from India to be a cameleer, helping lay the trans-Australia telegraph line.

[4] Prior to entering Parliament, Wyatt served as senior public servant in the fields of Aboriginal health and education.

[6] Wyatt stood for the Liberal Party in the seat of Hasluck in the 2010 election, defeating Labor incumbent Sharryn Jackson.

He wore a traditional Booka – a kangaroo skin coat with feathers from a red-tailed black cockatoo, signifying a leadership role in Noongar culture.

[14] He made his maiden speech to the Parliament on 29 September and received a standing ovation from both the government and opposition benches as well as from the public galleries.

[16][17] On 18 February 2016, Wyatt's responsibilities were expanded to include aged care in addition to health following a rearrangement in the ministry;[18][19] and were expanded further when on 24 January 2017 Wyatt was the first indigenous Australian appointed as an Australian Government Minister, with responsibility for the portfolio of Aged Care and the newly established portfolio of Indigenous Health.

He said that he would "develop and bring forward a consensus option for constitutional recognition to be put to a referendum during the current parliamentary term".

He spoke of the development of a local, regional and national voice, and said "with respect to [Indigenous] Treaty, it's important that states and territory jurisdictions take the lead.

[31][32] In 2019, Wyatt delivered the Frank Archibald Memorial Lecture at the University of New England on the topic "Teaching Indigenous Australia – Understanding our past and unlocking our future".

Cedric's son Ben Wyatt (Ken's first cousin, once removed) is a former Labor politician who served as the Treasurer of Western Australia from 2017 until March 2021.