A man who discovered his three-year-old daughter dead in his lounge room has been sentenced to nine years in jail.

During the sentencing hearing, Justice Roslyn Atkinson said she was satisfied Matthew Lee Williamson, 32, had delivered the fatal blow to Kyhesha-Lee Joughin, saying the child had died a "slow, painful death".

"It would be hard to imagine the misery this frightened little girl suffered," Justice Atkinson said.

Williamson pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year but denied causing his child's injuries. ( AAP: Dave Hunt )

Justice Atkinson told the hearing Kyhesha-Lee had lived in a "depraved and disgusting" environment and Williamson was "callous".

He has been deemed a serious violent offender, which means he must serve 80 per cent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

Williamson wiped away tears as Justice Atkinson sentenced him over his daughter's death.

The Supreme Court heard the little girl died from a perforated bowel after being punched in the stomach and had also been physically and sexually abused and regularly locked in her bedroom without food, water or a toilet.

Williamson tied the rope to his bed while he slept in the day. ( Supplied: Supreme Court in Brisbane )

Justice Atkinson told Williamson his callously cruel actions to his young daughter amounted to a serious example of the crime of manslaughter.

She also said she did not accept Williamson's evidence of not reporting Kyhesha-Lee's sexual injuries because he had not thought anything of them.

Justice Atkinson said she would not sentence Williamson based on any sexual evidence, as he had not been charged with any offences of that nature.

She told the hearing there were many inconsistencies in Williamson's evidence.

Justice Atkinson said Williamson locking Kyhesha-Lee in her room for many hours so she could not even go to the toilet "was cruel behaviour".

Father pleaded guilty to manslaughter

Williamson's bed, which he would tie rope to in order to keep his daughter locked in her room. ( Supplied: Supreme Court in Brisbane )

The little girl died in March 2013 at a unit in Petrie, north of Brisbane, and was found to have suffered internal bleeding, cuts and bruises.

She said it would have been obvious to Williamson that Kyhesha-Lee was severely ill.

Justice Atkinson said she was satisfied by evidence that Williamson swore at and hit Kyhesha-Lee in anger and had caused some of the child's injuries.

Williamson, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year but denied causing any of the injuries.

He instead admitted to not acting to save her life when she was gravely ill and suffering from numerous injuries.

In the final days of her life, Williamson said Kyhesha-Lee was vomiting green fluid but he did not seek medical treatment or tell his family.

Justice Atkinson told the hearing Williamson had made several false denials and although he had pleaded guilty, his remorse was diminished.

She said there were a number of factors that made this a serious case of manslaughter.

'We're all heartbroken', Kyhesha-Lee's mother says

Mother Danielle Joughin and grandfather Doug Joughin, outside court after the sentencing hearing. ( ABC News: Andrew Kos )

Other members of Kyhesha-Lee's family, including her mother, were in court for the sentencing hearing.

Outside court, Kyhesha-Lee's mother, Danielle Joughin, said she did not think any sentence would be long enough.

"No-one's ever going to hug her again, we're never going to see her, she's never going to have a life and he's [Williamson's] not taking responsibility for that," Ms Joughin said.

Ms Joughin said her family was heartbroken.

"She [Kyhesha-Lee] was bubbly, she was energetic, she was funny, she had a little Miss Diva attitude and I miss that about her — full of energy, full of love," she said.

"It feels exactly the way it did when it originally happened — we're all heartbroken, every day is a task.

"Her memory will never be forgotten — there's pictures on the wall, we're always talking about her."

Ms Joughin said she wore a butterfly on her jacket at court today in honour of her daughter.

"Kyhesha had a thing for insects and fish and we had butterflies let go at her funeral, so we thought we'd do a little bit of something special for her so that everyone knows that we're thinking of her," she said.

The girl's grandfather, Doug Joughin, said he was also consumed by grief.

"All we can do is just go back on memories, have a look at photos of her that we had, we just think about her all the time, never stop," he said.