The amount included money spent on the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) investigation and hearings, land acquisitions and disposals, property leases, debt recovery, planning matters, insurance claims, human resources matters as well as prosecuting heritage and environmental breaches.

The council released details of its legal bills after the Mercury reported on Monday that a financial report to be tabled at tonight's council meeting contained a massive blowout in legal costs.

It is estimated the council should be able to recover $427,236.

The council said the amount spent on legal matters last financial year was "extremely disappointing and reflects the organisation's involvement in recent high profile hearings".

As reported in the Mercury, a significant proportion of the legal fees was spent on the ICAC investigation and hearings - $542,860 to date.

A further $319,420 was spent to challenge an earlier development consent the council issued for developer Frank Vellar's $100 million Quattro project at the junction of Keira and Flinders streets.

Together with his then lover - former senior planner Beth Morgan - Mr Vellar managed to engineer the approval of the Quattro development, which was rubber stamped by the council on August 18, 2005.

The council released details of other costly legal matters which included an ICAC investigation resolved in December last year relating to allegations of attempted bribery of council officer Peter Coyte by developer Lou Tasich ($29,385); the defamation case against the council by former staffer Vicky Curran ($88,554); and the pursuit of a water pollution breach at Wollongong Golf Course by development company Belmorgan in the Land and Environment Court ($147,900).