Disgraced Sydney businessman Salim Mehajer is seeking legal access to a mobile phone because "his safety is paramount" and prison officers had intelligence there was a $250,000 bounty on his head, his lawyer says.

The former Auburn deputy mayor applied for a number of bail variations in Parramatta District Court on Wednesday.

Salim Mehajer arrives at Parramatta court on Wednesday. Credit:AAP

This included access to one phone, the ability to live at home without his mother and a lift on his prohibition from social media, particularly Instagram.

Mehajer's solicitor, Zali Burrows, said "one of the most concerning things" justifying the phone use was a previous break-and-enter at his Lidcombe home and a news report that Silverwater corrections officers "had intelligence there was a $250,000 bounty - that was a hit - on him".