Raff Ciccone


Raffaele "Raff" Ciccone is an Australian politician who is a Senator for Victoria, representing the Labor Party. He was appointed to the Senate on 6 March 2019 following the resignation of Jacinta Collins.

Early life

Ciccone is the son of Italian immigrant parents who arrived in Australia in the 1960s. He holds degrees in arts and commerce from Deakin University and the University of Melbourne. Ciccone became a senior official in the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association. He was elected to the board of Link Health and Community in 2009, and from December 2017 served as the organisation's chair.

Politics

Ciccone joined the Australian Labor Party in 2000. Before entering the Senate, Ciccone worked as a staffer to Senator Jacinta Collins and was a vice-president of the Australian Labor Party. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Labor's Senate ticket in Victoria prior to the 2013 federal election. He also stood for election to the Monash City Council in 2008 and 2016, but was defeated with less than ten percent of the vote on each occasion.
Ciccone was appointed to the Senate on 6 March 2019 to fill a casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Jacinta Collins.

Personal life

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