The 74-year-old has been appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to the Indigenous community.
She has long advocated for Indigenous-led solutions to pressing issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands people, particularly in delivering health care.
"The quiet day-to-day work done in our communities shows the broader Australian community what happens when Aboriginal health is in Aboriginal hands," she has said.
"The government needs to show its confidence in Aboriginal Australia and the efforts that we've made, especially in Closing the Gap."
Ms Turner, an Arrernte and Gurdanji woman, was raised in Alice Springs.
Starting as a switchboard operator she worked her way up in public administration, being appointed deputy secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in 1991.
Earlier this year she stepped down as CEO of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), a role that put her at the forefront of community efforts to Close the Gap in health outcomes.
She also recently stepped down as lead convenor of the Coalition of Peaks, a grouping of more than 80 Indigenous community-controlled peak organisations.
On behalf of the coalition, Ms Turner was a central figure in revamping the Closing the Gap national agreement in 2020.
She has been co-chair of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap, was the longest serving CEO of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Commission and was the inaugural head of NITV.
Ms Turner was also a strong advocate of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament initiative, defeated in a referendum in 2023.
In 2024 she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters by The Australian National University for her leadership and advocacy on Indigenous health.
During the COVID-19 pandemic the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, on her watch as boss, helped lead an Indigenous response that prioritised protecting remote communities, including "Keep Our Mob Safe" public health messaging.
"We moved very early. NACCHO led on COVID," she said.
"We're very saddened by the lives we did lose and if we could have prevented that we would have, but the measures that we did take certainly saved the lives of thousands of our people."
Ms Turner was a constant advocate for health care designed, governed and led by communities, delivering better outcomes.
"Community control works because it puts our people at the centre of decisions about our health," she said.
When Ms Turner stepped down as NACCHO chief, Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy called her a "true giant" of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs and community-controlled health.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said her tireless efforts had held governments to account.
"Pat is a formidable advocate and our nation is a better place because of her."
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