Loading Gibson said she ran shopping errands for acquaintances because helping people was "in my nature", and she earned money through outsourcing company Airtasker by caring for an elderly woman named Claire, in an arrangement struck with the woman's daughter. When asked if Claire had died, Gibson said no, but took her glasses off and began crying. "You can see what I mean about my empathetic nature," she said, wiping her eyes. "I care about these people, whether it's personal or employment." Later, Mr Moller asked about a 2017 holiday to Bali Gibson took with her son, to "take leave from my situation in Melbourne".

During the trip, the court heard, three deposits totalling $1600 were paid into her bank account to extend the holiday, but Gibson couldn't explain who made the payments or what they were for. "Is it seriously your evidence that $1600 was deposited into your account, in three deposits in the space of about a week, and you don't know who deposited it?" Mr Moller asked. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Gibson replied: "I would have to speculate and I am not willing to do that." Gibson cried again and Judicial Registrar Claire Gitsham adjourned the court for 10 minutes. After the break Gibson re-entered the court chuckling with her lawyers.

The court heard Gibson had a $28,000 credit card debt with the ANZ Bank and earned $15,000 and $20,000 in 2016 and 2017 respectively. But between 2017 and 2019, Mr Moller said, an analysis found she spent $91,000, including $13,000 on clothing, accessories and cosmetics, and $45,000 on "discretionary" spending. Gibson wouldn't accept those figures. Belle Gibson with Clive Rothwell, the man she and her son live with in Northcote. Credit:Nine News Gibson was also evasive when asked who funded holidays to Adelaide, the Gold Coast and a property in NSW, though she confirmed a trip to East Africa was paid for by Clive Rothwell, the man she and her eight-year-old son live with in Northcote. Gibson denies she and Mr Rothwell are in a romantic relationship, although he has at times lent her money.

The court heard Gibson was paid $180 a week in child care payments since 2014, which was "when the person paying that amount decided he wanted to pay them". She also made deposits into her account by selling her son's possessions when he outgrew them, and putting change into a coin-counting machine at a bank. "That must have been a lot of coins," Mr Moller said without stating the size of the deposit. Gibson replied: "I have a jar and my son has a jar." Despite the regular deposits, Gibson maintains she is "not in a position" to pay the fine. She said she was looking for work online and getting interviews, but when Mr Moller asked about her using an app for self-made birthday cards, the barrister inquired if she had considered a business in graphic design given her entrepreneurial streak. "I don't believe [I am] employable at this time," Gibson replied.

She said she had considered arranging to pay the fine in instalments but when asked at what stage that proposal was, said: "I am unable to say." She responded the same way when asked how advanced she was in considering filing for bankruptcy. Now that her finances have been examined, Consumer Affairs Victoria must decide what action to pursue. It has six months to decide whether it wants to ask Gibson more questions. Gibson accumulated $420,000 through her cookbook The Whole Pantry and an app, in which she falsely claimed her cancer was cured through alternative therapies and nutrition. She has previously been warned she could be jailed over her refusal to pay. In 2017, when Justice Debra Mortimer handed down the penalty, she said Gibson also falsely claimed she would donate money from her app and book sales to charity, including to a boy with inoperable brain cancer. She donated only $10,000 to charity.