Prior to entering Parliament in 1987 Dr Patterson received a BA (Hons) from University of Sydney and a Dip Ed and PhD from Monash University.
She taught allied health students at Lincoln Institute and introduced gerontology into the undergraduate programs and codeveloped the first Diploma in Gerontology in Victoria.
She was elected to the Senate in 1987. In 2001 she was appointed to Cabinet as Minister for Health and Ageing and in 2003 as Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister assisting the Prime Minister on Women’s Issues. Dr Patterson was appointed the Aged Discrimination Commissioner in 2016. As Commissioner she focussed on counteracting ageism, age discrimination in the workplace, elder abuse and older women at risk of homelessness.
She has served on several not-for-profit boards and on Monash University Council. She is a board member of Every Age Counts and Patron of the Australian Institute for Intergenerational Practice. She was awarded an AO in 2016 and received an honorary doctorate from Monash University in 2018 and the University of Wollongong in 2024.
