Sam Rae walked into federal politics as the inaugural member for Hawke, a Victorian seat with no incumbent and no history when he won it in 2022. By May 2025, he was Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, the person overseeing Australia’s move to a new rights-based aged-care system, according to the official parliamentary record of the Parliament of Australia.
Born: 29 September 1986 ·
Birthplace: Canberra, Australia ·
Position: Minister for Aged Care and Seniors (since 13 May 2025) ·
Party: Australian Labor Party ·
Electorate: Division of Hawke, Victoria ·
Children: 3
Quick snapshot
- Born in Canberra on 29 September 1986 (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- MP for Hawke since 2022, re-elected in 2025 (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- Minister for Aged Care and Seniors since 13 May 2025 (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- Partner’s name and occupation are not disclosed in official biographies (Australian Labor Party (official biography))
- Neither the party bio nor the parliamentary record lists a net-worth figure (Australian Labor Party (official biography)) (Australian Labor Party (official biography))
- New Aged Care Act deferred from 1 July 2025 to 1 November 2025 (Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (regulator bulletin))
- Statement of Expectations issued to the regulator on 28 May 2025 (Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (June 2025 bulletin))
- Aged Care Act 2024 and Support at Home program commence on 1 November 2025 (Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (new-era update))
- Rae has issued an open letter to the aged-care workforce on preparation (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (nurses’ peak body))
Eight biographical details, one pattern: the public record is exact about the facts of Rae’s career and almost silent about the facts of his private life.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Samuel Thomas Rae (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)) |
| Date of birth | 29 September 1986 (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)) |
| Place of birth | Canberra, Australia (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)) |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party (Australian Labor Party (official biography)) |
| Electorate | Division of Hawke, Victoria (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)) |
| Current office | Minister for Aged Care and Seniors since 13 May 2025 (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)) |
| Education | Bachelor of Science (Australian National University); Graduate Diploma in Management and MBA (Melbourne Business School) (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)) |
| Partner and children | Partner not named in official sources; three young children (Australian Labor Party (official biography)) |
Where is Sam Rae from?
- Born: Canberra, Australia (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- Mother: public-school teacher and union activist (Australian Labor Party (official biography))
- Electorate: Division of Hawke, Victoria (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
Rae was born in the national capital on 29 September 1986, and the official parliamentary record is unambiguous about both date and place. The Labor Party’s biography adds a personal detail that explains a lot: his mother was a public-school teacher and union activist. That combination — public education and the union movement — is the classic formation story of an Australian Labor staffer.
The political geography is where the story gets interesting. Rae wasn’t born in Hawke, and he didn’t grow up in the seat he now represents. He entered Parliament in 2022 as the inaugural member for the Division of Hawke, a newly created Victorian electorate, and was re-elected there in 2025 (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)).
Born in Canberra, representing a Victorian seat created for the 2022 election — Rae’s political base is the party machinery, not a home town.
The implication: Rae’s origin story is institutional rather than dynastic — born in Canberra, shaped by public service and union activism, then transplanted into a brand-new seat that had no local political family to inherit it.
Who is Sam Rae’s partner?
The short answer is that official sources don’t name her. The ALP biography talks about Rae’s family openly, but refers to his partner only by that title — no name, no profession, no public profile (Australian Labor Party (official biography)).
Does Sam Rae have children?
- Yes — three young children (Australian Labor Party (official biography))
- Children’s names and ages are not published in the party biography (Australian Labor Party (official biography))
The party’s official profile is direct on the subject:
“Together with his partner and their three young kids, Sam and his family love Hawke’s vibrant community.”
— Australian Labor Party, official biography (Australian Labor Party (official biography))
The choice to describe the children while withholding the partner’s name is unusual in Australian federal politics, where ministerial family details are usually shared or at least acknowledged. It suggests a deliberate privacy line: the public gets the shape of the family, but not enough to identify the partner without effort.
The party bio volunteers the children but never the partner’s name. For anyone researching Rae, that asymmetry is the clearest signal that the family is public when it serves the story — and private where the record stops.
The pattern: Rae’s official image is family-centered, but the family’s public boundary is controlled. Expect this part of any biography to stay thin until Rae or his partner chooses to change it.
How old is Sam Rae?
Rae was born on 29 September 1986, which makes him 38 for most of 2025 and 39 after his birthday in late September (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)). He was 38 when he was sworn in as a minister on 13 May 2025. At 38, he took on a portfolio whose core clients are among the oldest Australians — a contrast that makes the “how old is Sam Rae” question more than trivia.
When was Sam Rae born?
- 29 September 1986 (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
Every official account agrees on the date. The parliamentary record lists it alongside his gender and birthplace, which is why the date itself is one of the most reliable details in this profile.
What day is Sam’s birthday?
- 29 September, every year (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
Because the birth date is official, the birthday is easy to calculate — and it is a small detail that anchors the rest of his biography.
What this means: Rae’s age is verifiable to the day, which is more than can be said for most of the personal details around it. The precision of the record makes the gaps elsewhere stand out more sharply.
What are Sam Rae’s qualifications?
- Bachelor of Science, Australian National University (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- Graduate Diploma in Management and MBA, Melbourne Business School (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- Policy adviser, parliamentary adviser, Victorian Labor research director and state secretary (2016–2019), then PwC partner (2019–2021) (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
The formal education is on the record, and it’s not the law degree or economics degree that dominates most political profiles. Rae studied science as an undergraduate, then moved into management education at Melbourne Business School. That combination — science, then management — is closer to the profile of a consultant than a career politician.
Before Parliament, he worked as a policy adviser and parliamentary adviser, then as Victorian Labor’s research director and state secretary. The state secretary role is a machinery-of-politics job: candidates, campaigns, branch disputes, preselections. Then, from 2019 to 2021, he was a partner at PwC — a step that took him out of the party apparatus and into professional services (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)).
Aged-care providers will spend the next several years negotiating with a minister whose training is in management and campaign machinery, not medicine. Under the new Aged Care Act 2024, the skills that matter are system design, negotiation, and regulatory delivery — which is precisely the PwC-partner skillset, for better or worse.
The trade-off: Rae’s qualifications make him well suited to implement a complex statutory reform. Whether the aged-care sector wanted a minister with clinical experience instead of a management-focused operator is a different question — and it is one his first months in the portfolio have already started to answer.
How did Mr. Sam make his money?
The honest answer is that his income is standard for a federal politician. He has been paid as a Member of Parliament since the 2022 election, and as a minister since May 2025. His pre-parliamentary income came from two sources: a paid role as Labor’s Victorian state secretary (2016–2019), and a partnership at PwC (2019–2021) (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)).
- Current income: federal MP salary, plus ministerial salary (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- Prior income: Labor state secretary, then PwC partner (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- Net worth: not disclosed in any official biography (Australian Labor Party (official biography))
There is no public record of Rae’s personal wealth. The ALP biography and the parliamentary record both ignore the subject, which is normal — Australian politicians are not required to publish a net-worth statement. The curiosity about “how Mr. Sam made his money” is probably driven by the PwC years, since partnership compensation at a large consulting firm is a private arrangement. But the exact figure is not in any official source, and the reliable answer is simply: salaries, in politics and before it.
The implication: if you’re looking for a fortune or a scandal, there’s nothing on the public record to find. The question answers itself the way most political-income questions do — with a pay grade, not a windfall.
Sam Rae’s path to the aged-care portfolio
The timeline runs from Canberra to Hawke to the cabinet table, with one policy delay now written into the record.
- — Born in Canberra (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- 2016–2019 — Secretary, ALP Victorian branch (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- 2019–2021 — Partner at PwC (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- — Elected as the inaugural MP for Hawke (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- 2025 federal election — Re-elected for Hawke (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- — Sworn in as Minister for Aged Care and Seniors (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- — Statement of Expectations issued to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (June 2025 bulletin))
- — Aged Care Act 2024 and Support at Home program commence (Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (new-era update))
One date above matters more than the rest. The government originally planned for the new Aged Care Act to start on 1 July 2025, then deferred it to 1 November 2025 to give the sector more time to prepare. The deferral was announced by Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler and Sam Rae (Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (regulator bulletin)).
The four-month deferral gave providers, workers, and regulators one last runway before the rights-based system went live. The first compliance disputes under the new Act will be the real measure of whether that extra time was enough.
What’s confirmed — and what isn’t
Confirmed facts
- Born 29 September 1986 in Canberra (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- Education: Bachelor of Science (ANU), Graduate Diploma in Management and MBA (Melbourne Business School) (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- Career: ALP Victorian secretary (2016–2019), PwC partner (2019–2021), MP for Hawke (2022), minister (13 May 2025) (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- Family: a partner and three young children (Australian Labor Party (official biography))
What’s unclear
- Partner’s name and occupation — described only as “his partner” (Australian Labor Party (official biography))
- Exact net worth — no figure appears in official biographies (Australian Labor Party (official biography))
- Early pre-politics career details beyond the adviser and research roles in his parliamentary record (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
- Whether his PwC work involved aged-care or health-sector clients — not mentioned in the public record (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record))
The balance is telling: the official record is exhaustive about the career and almost silent about the person. For journalists and voters, that means the verified biography ends at the family’s front gate.
This profile relies on official records from the Parliament of Australia, the Australian Labor Party, and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Where a detail is not on the record, we say so explicitly.
The editorial note above is the clearest summary: every claim in this profile can be traced, and every gap is labeled.
Key quotes and official statements
Three statements capture how Rae is currently framed in official and sector communications.
“Together with his partner and their three young kids, Sam and his family love Hawke’s vibrant community.”
— Australian Labor Party, official biography (Australian Labor Party (official biography))
The government said the deferral would allow “more time for workforce capability, public preparation, governance systems, guidance and training.”
— Albanese government, as reported by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (nurses’ peak body))
Rae issued an open letter to the aged-care workforce after the four-month delay, emphasizing preparation and consultation.
— Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (nurses’ peak body))
The takeaway: Rae’s public communication so far has been institutional — party statements, regulatory statements, and a letter to workers. That is consistent with a minister whose job is delivering a legislated reform, but it means the public hasn’t yet heard much from him directly about how he’ll use the portfolio.
Why this matters now
Rae’s rise from party secretary to cabinet minister took less than a decade, and the portfolio he walked into is one of the most consequential in the Albanese government’s second term. The Aged Care Act 2024 is now in force as of 1 November 2025, with the Support at Home program running alongside it. For providers, the new minister’s record says: expect a delivery-focused, management-trained negotiator who talks in systems and timelines, not clinical anecdotes. For older Australians and their families, the next few months will show whether the sector’s extra preparation time was actually used. For aged-care providers and the workforce, the choice is already clear: absorb the new rights-based rules now, or watch the first enforcement cases arrive without you.
Related reading
- Sarah Henderson: Biography, Salary, and FAQs (2025)
- Bridging Visa Australia: Types, Work Rights & Travel Rules
Both pieces follow the same editorial standard: verified facts first, open labeling of gaps.
health.gov.au, agedcarequality.gov.au, agedcarequality.gov.au
Frequently asked questions
What is Sam Rae’s full name?
Samuel Thomas Rae, according to the official parliamentary record (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)).
How many children does Sam Rae have?
Three. The ALP biography refers to “his partner and their three young kids” (Australian Labor Party (official biography)).
What political party does Sam Rae belong to?
The Australian Labor Party (Australian Labor Party (official biography)).
When did Sam Rae become a Member of Parliament?
At the 2022 federal election on 21 May 2022, as the inaugural member for Hawke. He was re-elected at the 2025 federal election (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)).
What electorate does Sam Rae represent?
The Division of Hawke in Victoria (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)).
Where can I contact Sam Rae’s office?
Contact details, including his constituency office, are published on his official parliamentary profile (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)).
What is Sam Rae’s role in the Australian government?
Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, a position he has held since 13 May 2025 (Parliament of Australia (official parliamentary record)).
Is Sam Rae married?
Official sources don’t use the word “married.” The ALP biography describes his partner and their three children together (Australian Labor Party (official biography)).
The answers above trace the same boundary as the rest of the profile: Rae’s career is verifiable to the day, and his partner’s name remains off the record.
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Alex Chen is Editor-in-Chief at Reef Brief, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and corrections.