Developer contributions and infrastructure charges fall due between consent and titles. When you pay decides whether equity or the development loan pays.
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Developer Contributions · Payment Timing · Development Finance
Three dates matter with a developer contribution: when consent sets it, when a certificate makes it payable, and when titles wait on it. Where the due date falls against your first drawdown decides whether equity or the loan pays.
Quick Answer
Developer contributions are council or state charges on new homes and lots, and the point they fall due between consent and titles decides whether your equity or your development loan pays them. Most consents set payment before the construction or subdivision certificate, so the charge belongs in the budget from the first feasibility, not the last.
Also called: infrastructure charges, development contributions, section 7.11 contributions, headworks charges. NSW says section 7.11 and 7.12; Queensland says infrastructure charges; Victoria says development or infrastructure contributions; the NT and WA often say headworks.
What are developer contributions and infrastructure charges?
Developer contributions and infrastructure charges are fees a council or state agency levies on new homes and lots to help pay for the roads, drainage, open space and community facilities the extra residents will use. They come from a contributions plan or a charges resolution, not from the lender, and they attach to your development consent as a condition.
The name changes at the border. In NSW they are section 7.11 contributions, tied to the demand a project creates, or section 7.12 levies, based on the cost of the works. Queensland councils levy adopted infrastructure charges. Victoria uses development contributions plans and infrastructure contributions plans, with the Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution on top in growth corridors. In WA and the NT the same idea often goes by headworks, alongside utility connection charges.
On a small project the charge is easy to miss because it turns up in the consent conditions, not in the builder's quote. Where this commonly lands is a feasibility that looked fine until the conditions arrived and a charge on every new dwelling needed a home. If the project is a subdivision, the civil works and the charges usually arrive together, and our land subdivision and civil works finance guide covers the works side. More construction lane reading sits in the Construction Hub.
When do you pay developer contributions on a residential project?
You usually pay developer contributions before the construction or subdivision certificate, because that is where most consent conditions set the deadline. The NSW Planning Portal guidance on timing of contributions payments says there is no legislative rule for when councils require payment on a development application. Its suggested timing is before the construction certificate for building work, before the subdivision certificate for subdivision, or whichever comes first where a project has both.
Complying development is stricter. The Planning Portal says contributions on a complying development certificate must be paid before building or subdivision work starts. Outside NSW, the timing is set by the charges notice or the permit conditions for your site, so read those rather than assuming the NSW pattern carries across.
| Stage | Typical charge timing | Usually paid from |
|---|---|---|
| Development consent issued | The contribution is set as a consent condition; amounts are commonly indexed until paid | Nothing paid yet; it goes into the budget now |
| Construction certificate (building work) | NSW suggested timing: before the certificate issues | Typically your equity, because many facilities have not started drawing (varies by lender) |
| Subdivision certificate (subdivision) | NSW suggested timing: before the certificate issues | Equity or the facility, depending on the drawdown schedule |
| Building work and subdivision together | NSW suggested timing: whichever certificate comes first | Typically equity, at the earlier point |
| Complying development | Before building or subdivision work starts | Equity, before the first drawdown |
| Queensland, Victoria, WA and the NT | Set by the charges notice or permit conditions | Read the conditions; the lender reads them at credit |
Sources: NSW Planning Portal, Timing of contributions payments, no page date shown. Read 2 November 2026.
Consent to titles is the window to plan around. The earlier the charge falls due, the more likely it is paid from your own funds before the facility starts drawing.
Can you defer or stage developer contributions?
You can sometimes defer or stage developer contributions, but in NSW only where the council agrees and the contributions plan allows it. The Planning Portal describes deferred or periodic payment as something deferred at council discretion, usually against security.
A deferral helps cash flow but raises a question for the lender: the security has to come from somewhere, and a lender will want to know whether it is drawing on the same equity they are counting toward the project. A deferral that ties up the deposit can leave the loan to cost test short.
In Victoria the Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution has its own staged payment arrangements, so check the current State Revenue Office terms for your land rather than assuming them. Some councils also accept works in kind, where you build part of the infrastructure instead of paying the full amount in cash. Whether a works in kind agreement or deferral suits your project is a question for a town planner or solicitor; how the charge is treated for tax goes to your accountant.
How much do developer contributions add to a small development?
Developer contributions can add a meaningful amount for each new lot or dwelling, but there is no single figure, because the charge depends on the council, the plan, the dwelling type and any credit for existing homes on the site. Treat any per dwelling figure you hear as indicative only, because charges vary by council, and take the figure from the council's contributions plan or a planning certificate for your address.
Plans are reviewed and charges are commonly indexed, so a figure from an old feasibility may not hold on the day you pay. In Victoria the contributions sit next to land tax, stamp duty and other state charges, and our Melbourne and Victorian development loans post sets those out. For NSW sites, the Sydney and NSW development finance post covers the local planning layer.
A cost plan does not always include statutory charges. Ask your quantity surveyor whether contributions are in or out of the report, and see our quantity surveyor report insight for what lenders expect it to show.
How do development lenders treat contributions in your budget and equity?
Development lenders treat contributions as a cost line in the feasibility, and they count it whether you have paid it yet or not. The charge sits beside land, build, fees and capitalised interest in the total development cost, which drives the loan to cost test, while the gross realisation value drives the end value test.
If the charge is paid before the facility starts drawing, it typically counts toward your equity contribution, with the council receipt as evidence. If it falls due after drawdowns start, some lenders fund it from the facility as a budget line and others want it from your own funds; it varies by lender. Our capitalised interest insight shows how interest on a funded charge builds over the term.
Budgeted from day one
- Charge in the feasibility at the council or certificate figure
- Allowance made for indexation to the payment date
- Timing matched to the certificate named in the consent
- Payment evidenced with the council receipt
Found at the conditions stage
- Charge missing from the cost plan
- Equity counted twice against a deferral security
- Certificate held up waiting on payment
- No contingency for indexation
Our development feasibility guide covers how lenders test the whole budget, and the site acquisition budget insight shows where charges sit while you are still buying the land. For the facility itself, see development finance, and the construction loan pack lists what to have ready.
Do contributions have to be paid before titles issue and the loan is repaid?
In most subdivisions contributions have to be paid before titles issue, because the council will not release the subdivision certificate until the condition is met, and the lender's exit waits on new titles. Late payment holds up everything after it while interest keeps running.
- Consent. The contribution condition and the method for the amount are set.
- Construction certificate. In NSW, charges on building work are commonly paid here.
- Build and drawdowns. Progress payments run against the approved budget.
- Subdivision certificate. Charges on subdivision are paid and the council signs off the plan.
- Titles register. Sales settle or the stock is refinanced, and the loan is repaid.
State charges can sit on top of council ones. In NSW the Housing and Productivity Contribution applies to some residential development as a state charge, so check whether it applies to your site and when it is payable. For how the exit works once titles register, see how development finance works and our property development finance guide.
Developer contributions are a timing problem as much as a cost. The charge is set at consent, usually falls due before the construction or subdivision certificate, and has to be cleared before titles issue and the loan can be repaid. When it falls due decides whether equity or the facility pays it, and lenders count it in the total cost either way. A deferral or works in kind deal can help, but it needs council agreement and advice before you rely on it.
Key takeaway: get the contribution figure and its due date from the consent conditions before you lock the feasibility, then show the lender which certificate it is tied to.Frequently Asked Questions
Developer contributions usually have to be paid before titles are issued, because the council holds the subdivision certificate until the contribution condition is met. Without that certificate the plan cannot register and new titles cannot issue, so settlements and the loan repayment wait. Check your consent conditions, and see our land subdivision finance guide for how the civil works stage fits around it.
Developer contributions in NSW are usually paid before the construction certificate for building work, before the subdivision certificate for subdivision, or whichever comes first. There is no legislative rule for development applications, so your consent condition sets the timing, and complying development must pay before building or subdivision work starts. Our Sydney development finance post covers the NSW planning layer.
A development loan can cover developer contributions in some deals, but many lenders expect charges paid before the first drawdown to come from your equity. Where the charge falls due after drawdowns start, some lenders fund it as a budget line; it varies by lender. Either way it sits in the total cost the lender tests, as our feasibility guide explains.
Developer contributions per lot are set by each council's contributions plan or charges resolution, so there is no national figure to quote. The amount depends on the location, the dwelling type and the plan, and it is commonly indexed until paid. Get it from the council or a planning certificate, then carry it in the budget next to capitalised interest and the other costs a lender tests.
You can sometimes negotiate how developer contributions are delivered with council, mainly through a works in kind agreement or a deferred payment arrangement, but the amount itself is usually set by the plan. Any change is at council discretion and should be documented. Whether it suits your project is a question for a town planner or solicitor, and our Melbourne development loans post covers the Victorian charges.
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