Joseph Karl Szakacs (/ˈsɒkɑːtʃ/ "SOCK-arch";[1] born 3 July 1982)[2] is an Australian politician and trade unionist.

Szakacs was born in Adelaide to a Hungarian father and Australian mother.

In his teens, Szakacs was a competitive swimmer, holding the state 50m freestyle title and representing Australia at the 2002–03 FINA Swimming World Cup.

[3] Introduced to the trade union movement by his father, a waterside worker in Port Adelaide, Szakacs worked as a volunteer lawyer at the Young Workers Legal Service, then as an industrial officer with the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and later the United Firefighters Union South Australia.

Szakacs was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly in the by-election for the seat of Cheltenham on 9 February 2019, replacing former premier Jay Weatherill.