The government announced recently, after several months of lobbying from many councils including Liverpool and Camden, that it would raise the cap on section 94 contributions from $20,000 to $30,000 a block.

Acting general manager Farooq Portelli said this was a "big win" for all growth councils and he was pleased the government came to the right decision.

Developers need to pay the levies when they build in a new area to allow the council to provide necessary infrastructure.

The council's recent planning had been based on the expectation that it would receive $36,000 a block.

The government introduced the levy cap several months ago as a way of stimulating residential housing development, in an attempt to alleviate the state's housing shortage.

At the time, Mr Portelli said that if the cap was adopted, the council would not be able to provide the infrastructure to the area's greenfield sites which are to be developed in coming years. He said that if the cap was maintained, the council would be forced to increase rates to pay for the necessary facilities, which it did not want to do.

Mr Portelli said that the cap wouldn't have the effect the government wanted, because developers would not rush into the industry.

He said that because the council wouldn't be able to afford to provide the infrastructure developers would be forced to provide it and that would scare them off.

Liverpool Council launched a strong publicity campaign and lobbied the government against the move.

Mayor Wendy Waller and Mr Portelli met government officials and Planning Minister Tony Kelly.

Mr Portelli said that even though the council still had a shortfall, between the new cap and the $36,000 it counted on, this would not be a problem.