She has previously worked as an industrial advocate for the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and as a judge's associate in the Supreme Court of Queensland to Justice Atkinson.

[5] Fentiman stood for Waterford in 2015 after the previous Labor Member Evan Moorhead lost the seat in the 2012 LNP landslide.

In September 2016, the State Opposition called for Fentiman's sacking as a Minister following a number of deaths of children in foster care or within the child safety system.

[11] Some two weeks later, it was revealed that three child protection staff had been stood down, and a further nine were subject to disciplinary proceedings following the death of 21 month old Mason Jet Lee in June 2016.

[13][14] In 2017, Fentiman announced the hiring an additional 300 Child Safety Staff members to address understaffing issues.

[16] During the 2017 Queensland state election, it was revealed that a man with child pornography convictions, Hayden Joel Schofield, was employed in her office.

[21] In 2017, Fentiman and the then-candidate for Cook Cynthia Lui announced an election commitment to new laws to recognise Torres Strait Island families' use of traditional adoption.

For generations, Torres Strait Islanders have supported their children and each other with traditional parenting approaches known more recently as "Kupai omasker".