Anne Moffat
Chief Operations Officer | Department of Transport and Main Roads
"Transport and infrastructure deals with people; we deliver connections and incredible social and economic advancement."
Current Position
- Chief Operations Officer, Department of Transport and Main Roads
Previous Positions
- Project Director, South East Queensland Asset Management, Department of Transport and Main Roads
- Director, Executive and Property Services, Moreton Bay Regional Council
- Executive Director, State Services, Department of the Premier and Cabinet
- Executive Director, Planning Management, Department of Transport and Main Roads
- Executive Director, Strategy and Policy, Department of Transport and Main Roads
- Executive Director, Strategy and Program Coordination, Department of Infrastructure and Planning
- Senior Director, Queensland Growth Management Summit team, Department of the Premier and Cabinet
- Director, Portfolio Analysis and Reporting, Department of Infrastructure and Planning
- Manager, Communication and Executive Services, Department of Infrastructure and Planning
Career snapshot
Anne Moffat has been the Chief Operations Officer for the Department of Transport and Main Roads since December 2018, supporting the Director-General with the day-to-day operations of the Department.
Prior to coming to this role, Anne had more than 20 years in the state and local government sectors, working in senior roles across the infrastructure programming and delivery areas, as well as urban and regional planning.
She has delivered a number of large policy and engagement projects such as the first regulatory regional plan for South East Queensland; the highly acclaimed Queensland Growth Management Summit, and the Queensland Plan – the state's largest ever engagement project. She has also led a number of delivery reform agendas across state and local government.
In her own words
I fell into it transport, originally coming in through the communication and engagement side of projects. And I loved it. It was an industry that I would have never thought of as attractive or interesting because I didn’t know it and it never promoted itself that way.
There is a still a long way to go in how transport markets itself to job seekers. There is a fantastic opportunity to highlight the multitude of roles in the industry, not just the STEM-based jobs. I am talking about the breadth of business development, communications, accounting, human resources, finance, and other support roles. We need to showcase what sits behind the infrastructure we build; and tell the stories and the passion of the everyday women heroes who work in transport.
I am incredibly passionate and outspoken about telling stories that showcase the diversity of roles and experience in the industry.
We need to highlight how fascinating it is to work on transport policy and to showcase the direct human interface transport has within communities. A strong driver for me is the public good that infrastructure delivers. You have the capacity to influence and support people’s lives. I think a lot of people would say ‘I hadn’t really thought about it that way.’
Engaging the young
You must be cognisant of achieving and maintaining diversity in your teams because it is very easy to end up with an over-representation of one group. You need to specifically plan for diversity and when necessary, bring in people if representation becomes skewed.
When undertaking a major consultation piece, I learnt the incredible power of engaging with young people. When you put a young person on a discussion table, the conversations are always richer, and adults maintain decorum even when they disagree.
The talent magnet
In transport and infrastructure, you work with incredibly talented people. The industry attracts pragmatic ‘do-ers’, who are generally focused on delivering for the public good. It is both strategic and customer centric. You can be involved in a huge variety of roles and I think that is highly attractive to women.
My vision for the next five years is…
…for women to appreciate that you don’t need to be an engineer or a construction worker to influence and drive change in transport and infrastructure. You simply need to be in this incredibly diverse industry and committed to making a difference.