Pat Turner AM (born 1952) is an Aboriginal Australian of Gudanji-Arrernte heritage who has worked as a civil administrator for policies which guarantee the right to self-determination for Indigenous people.
In March 2019, and at its initiative, an historic Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap was agreed between the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and the Coalition of Peaks.
[1] In 1972, Turner joined the Australian Public Service (APS) and was trained as a community welfare officer for the newly created Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA).
In 1976, she enrolled in social work courses at the South Australian Institute of Technology, but became frustrated that the classes approached community challenges with temporary solutions rather than analyzing society and suggesting real changes.
That same year, she was elected as the vice president of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI), pressing other students to become politically active.
[1] Turner moved to Canberra in 1978 and began working in the Equal Opportunity Branch to assess which jobs within the Public Service Board could be filled by indigenous people.
[1] In 1994, Turner became the "most senior Indigenous government official in Australia" when she was appointed CEO of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.