Fatin was born on 10 April 1941 in Harvey, Western Australia.[1] She is one of three children born to Jim and Nell Fimmel. She spent her early years on her parents' dairy farm in Harvey and attended the local convent school.[2]
Fatin's family moved to Perth in 1952 where her father undertook further education, eventually becoming a lecturer in business law and accounting at the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT). She completed her secondary schooling at St Joseph's School and Ladies' College in Perth. She subsequently trained as a nurse, as that was one of the only fields with a bursary available, and also briefly worked as an assistant librarian. Fatin lived in Malaysia for a period in the mid-1960s, where her husband was stationed as a medical officer at RAAF Butterworth.[2]
In 1972, Fatin became president of the newly formed Harvest Guild, one of the Women's Service Guilds of Western Australia. She "appeared in a controversial television interview to advocate legislation for the advertising of contraceptives".[3] In the same year, Fatin became involved with the Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL). She joined the Victorian branch in October 1972 and travelled to the inaugural national conference in Canberra in January 1973. She then helped create the WEL's Western Australian branch, along with her future parliamentary colleague Pat Giles who was elected convenor.[4]
Fatin served as secretary of the ALP's Subiaco and Maylands branches and was elected state president of the Labor Women's Organisation in 1977. She later served on the party's state executive from 1982 to 1983 and as a delegate to National Conference.[1]
At the 1983 election, Fatin was elected to the House of Representatives for the Division of Canning, winning the seat from the Liberals'Mel Bungey on a 9.1% swing. She is notable as being the first Western Australian woman to win a seat in that House.[5] Following an electoral redistribution, she won the new seat of Brand at the 1984 election, holding it until her retirement in 1996.
Her advocacy work continued beyond her retirement from politics, and she is an honorary life member of the Australian Reproductive Health Alliance.[citation needed]