Frances Abbott says she has forgiven the university student who revealed she received a $60,000 scholarship to study at the Whitehouse School of Design in an interview with The Australian.

Twenty-one year-old Freya Newman fronted court last month on hacking charges after allegedly accessing the prime minister’s daughter’s file while working at the design school.

The school’s decision to grant a scholarship to Ms Abbott was labelled as “beyond a joke” by other students.

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Ms Abbott said she was trying to move on with her life in Melbourne in the wake of the incident.

“I guess in that situation I’m trying to move forward with everything, but it’s just one of those things. I wish Freya all the best and moving forward we all make ­mistakes,” Ms Abbott said.

“Obviously, she (Freya) acknowledged her mistake so ­moving forward, moving on.”

“To be honest, it’s just like as a small child you learn it’s not right to read someone’s diary,” she said.

“It’s not right to hack into ­anything. That’s all I’ve got to say on it.”

Ms Newman told a Sydney court it was a “sense of injustice” which motivated her to reveal Ms Abbott was a scholarship recipient.

After the incident, it was revealed Whitehouse Institute chairman Les Taylor was a Liberal Party donor and long-time friend of Tony Abbott.