Varun Ghosh

Biography

Varun Nagarajan Ghosh is an Australian politician and barrister, serving as a Senator for Western Australia since 2024. He represents the Australian Labor Party and was nominated to fill a casual vacancy following the retirement of Pat Dodson.

Born on August 30, 1985, in Canberra, Ghosh is the son of Indian-born Bengali parents, both of whom were neurologists. In 1997, he moved to Perth with his family and attended Christ Church Grammar School. He later pursued studies in arts and law at the University of Western Australia and completed a Master of Law degree at Darwin College, Cambridge.

Ghosh began his legal career in 2009, working as a solicitor at Mallesons Stephen Jaques. He later moved to New York City, where he worked as an associate at White & Case, handling financial transactions for banks and private equity firms. He also served as a consultant to the World Bank, advising on financial institutions and insolvency law policy in developing countries. Returning to Australia in 2015, he worked as a senior associate at King & Wood Mallesons before transitioning to private practice as a barrister at Francis Burt Chambers in 2018.

Politically active from a young age, Ghosh joined the Australian Labor Party at 17 and was involved in the Western Australian branch, serving as the state president of Young Labor in the mid-2000s. He played a key role in legal matters for the party, including successfully defending the ALP in court against a lawsuit in 2022. In 2023, he co-authored a review recommending changes to the party’s leadership selection process in Western Australia.

In December 2023, Ghosh was selected as the ALP’s nominee to replace Pat Dodson in the Senate. He was officially appointed on February 1, 2024, following a joint sitting of the Parliament of Western Australia. Since taking office, he has focused on policy areas including education, employment, and financial regulation.