Carter spent her childhood living in a number of locations across Australia, due to her father's position in the Royal Australian Air Force.

Carter later served as Convenor of the Northern Territory Women's Advisory Council to the Chief Minister, Marshall Perron from 1993 to 1995, before going on to work as an investigator for the Health and Community Services Complaints Commission.

[3] In February 2000, former Chief Minister Shane Stone resigned from parliament, causing a by-election in his safe CLP seat of Port Darwin.

Although the by-election came at a bad time for the CLP government, Carter easily retained the seat in a quiet campaign where Stone's mandatory sentencing policies were the major issue.

In 2008, Carter returned to her home town of the Gold Coast, after nearly 30 years in the NT, where she now works as a registered nurse.