He also served briefly as the Director-General of the Department of Transport and Main Roads in the state government of Queensland, Australia until he was sacked by Premier Campbell Newman.

He was appointed as a replacement Liberal Party Councillor for Chandler Ward of the Brisbane City Council in 1996.

In mid-2005, Labor Deputy Premier Terry Mackenroth resigned from politics, sparking a by-election in the seat of Chatsworth, which included Caltabiano's council ward.

Premier Peter Beattie called an election for 9 September 2006 and Labor preselected Chris Bombolas, a high-profile sports presenter, as its candidate.

From June 2008 until he took over as Director-General of the Department of Transport and Main Roads, he was managing director of Infrastructure Delivery Pty Ltd.