Director-General

Neil Scales

Director-General
Department of Transport and Main Roads

As Director-General, Neil leads the Department of Transport and Main Roads, which has an Operating Budget of $4.073 billion, Capital Budget of $4.915 billion and managed Assets worth $52.546 billion.

Neil joined the Queensland Public Sector in March 2011 as CEO of TransLink where he was responsible for leadership of the public transport network across Queensland. In this role Neil was accountable for an annual budget of more than $1.5 billion and partnerships with TransLink's 19 service delivery partners.

Prior to joining TransLink, Neil was the Chief Executive and Director-General of Merseytravel, the transport authority for Merseyside in the north of England. In this role, he was responsible for some 200 million passenger journeys per year by train, bus, ferries and through the two Mersey Tunnels.

Along with almost 40 years experience in the transport industry, Neil holds undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in engineering, an MBA and is a Fellow of three major UK engineering institutions. Neil became an apprentice engineer, in fact, the last craft apprentice with Sunderland Corporation Transport.

He not only became trade qualified but also studied for a series of work-related qualifications at Sunderland Polytechnic including ONC (Engineering), HNC (Electrical and Electronic Engineering), a BSc (Engineering), and an MSc in Control Engineering and Computing Systems. This was supplemented by qualifications in general management, a Diploma in Management Studies with Distinction, and an MBA with the Open University.

In 2005, Neil received an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to public transport. He was also awarded an honorary Fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University in 2011 for his services to the region.