senator Raff Ciccone Contact information

Raffaele “Raff” Ciccone was born on November 1, 1983, in Australia. He grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh, where he lived with his parents and brother. His parents immigrated to Australia from Italy in the 1960s. Ciccone attended a local Catholic primary school before studying at Salesian College in Chadstone. He later earned degrees in arts and commerce from Deakin University and the University of Melbourne.

After graduation, Ciccone began his career in financial planning. He then transitioned to industrial relations and employment law and became a senior official in the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA). In this role, he advocated for workers in the retail sector, including fast food, convenience store, and warehouse workers. He also fought for marginalized workers who had been underpaid by 7-Eleven.

Ciccone married Dimity Paul, who was chief of staff to Victorian government minister Adem Somyurek and stood as a Labor candidate at the 2014 state election.

Ciccone joined the Australian Labor Party in 2000 and worked as a research officer to Senator Jacinta Collins while studying. As a party volunteer, he eventually became the vice-president of the Australian Labor Party in Victoria. Ciccone was defeated in his first three attempts at elections, at the Monash City Council elections of 2008 and 2016, and on Labor’s Senate ticket in Victoria before the 2013 federal election.

When Senator Collins announced she would not be contesting the seat at the 2019 federal election, it created a casual vacancy, and Ciccone put his name forward for the position. He was appointed to the Senate on 6 March 2019, becoming the 100th Senator to represent Victoria. In the 46th Parliament of Australia, he served as Deputy Opposition Whip in the Senate and on the Parliament’s Joint Standing Committees on Migration and on Treaties. He became Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Temporary Migration.

Ciccone has been a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment and Growth since 2020. He was the Vice-Chair of the Australia-Italy Parliamentary Network Group and continues to be the Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Landcare. Since 2021, Ciccone has been a member of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee and the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee.

In August 2020, Ciccone was appointed to the ALP’s national executive. Following the 2022 federal election, he became Government Deputy Whip in the Senate and was elected Chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee. He was also appointed to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee.

Ciccone is known for his strong views on foreign policy, particularly regarding China. He is a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a cross-party grouping of parliamentarians who are considered to be anti-China. He has argued for Australia’s agriculture industry to be considered with national security.

Ciccone is a supporter of Australia’s timber industry, arguing that it can help reduce the country’s carbon emissions. He has criticized the Labor government in Victoria for their decision to phase out native forest harvesting by 2030. He is connected to a pro-resources grouping of his party, known as the Otis Group, and has argued against the ALP’s opposition to nuclear power in Australia. Ciccone has also advocated for stronger penalties against employers committing wage theft, a rise in unemployment benefits, and greater protection of rights for gig workers.