Madden was born and raised in Ipswich.[2] He is a fifth generation Ipswich West resident since his family came to Australia from Ireland in 1863.[2][3][3] He attended St Mary's Primary School and went on to graduate from St Edmund's College.[2] He studied horticulture and agriculture at UQ Gatton before working as an agronomist.[3] He later studied law at QUT.[3] In his maiden speech Madden stated that perhaps his proudest achievement was, along with his late mother, successfully reviving the tradition of the discontinued Anzac Day service at Woodend in 1999, which now attracts a crowd of 1,000 people.[5][6][7]