An inquest has heard a girlfriend of Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis was "madly in love" with him - but her family reported him to the National Security Hotline.

A cousin of a girlfriend of Monis told the coroner Monis was secretive with the family and always refused to have his photo taken even at Christmas.

She said he appeared to have money and was "very generous" but vague about where he worked.

He told the family he was an accountant and said he worked in the city, but would not say where.

The witness said her cousin was his mouthpiece and would step in when she thought the family was not respecting his privacy.

"We had no doubt my cousin was madly in love with this man," she told the court.

"He was rarely forthcoming with any direct or detailed answers.

"We knew there was something wrong."

The witness said in 2010 the family phoned the National Security Hotline and were advised Monis "wasn't a threat".

"We couldn't put our finger on what all the hiding was," she said.

Monis kept bedroom door locked

The inquest heard Monis kept his bedroom locked when he shared a unit and borrowed thousands of dollars from his flatmate.

Speaking through an interpreter, Amin Khademi said he met Monis socially at a friend's house in Sydney in 1998.

He said Monis, who was using another name at the time, phoned him a fortnight later and offered him a room in his Auburn unit.

Mr Khademi said he lived with Monis for six months before Monis moved to Perth.

He said Monis told him not to bring friends over to the unit and not to answer the door if anyone knocked.

Mr Khademi said Monis always locked his bedroom door, even when he went to the bathroom.

He said Monis told him he was a senior member of the "clergy" in Iran and had trouble with the Iranian government.

Monis told Mr Khademi he had not been allowed to bring his family to Australia with him.

The witness said Monis kept paying rent on the room after he moved to Perth and another man, Mr Shariffi, came to sleep in the lounge room when Monis was away.

Mr Khademi said Monis got him to send around $2,500 to his mother's bank account and never repaid the money.

He also got Mr Khademi to paint a warehouse at Yagoona and borrowed other amounts of cash from him.

Monis told him he was having "financial hardship" and never repaid a total of around $9,000.

Monis's website featured Bin Laden

When asked by counsel assisting Jeremy Gormly whether Monis appeared to be working, Mr Khademi answered "No".

Mr Kademi said in 2008, the gunman showed him his website which had a photo of Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden and two women.

He said a video showed the women speaking in English with their their faces covered.

Mr Khademi said Monis told him about the letters he sent to the families of Australian soldiers.

He said he told Monis, "What you are doing is wrong".

Taxi driver Hassan Ammar told the inquest he once saw Monis protesting outside the New South Wales Parliament building in Macquarie Street.

"I didn't think he was a priest," he said.

"He talked as if he was the centre of the universe."

The inquest in Sydney is examining a range of issues in relation to Monis, who took 17 people hostage at the Lindt Cafe in Sydney's Martin Place on December 15.

Two hostages were killed in the siege along with Monis.

The inquest continues.