HSU civil lawsuit trial agaisnt Kathy Jackson set to close

The civil trial pitching the Health Services Union against its former boss, bankrupt Kathy Jackson, over union funds it says she wrongly spent on herself is expected to finish in Melbourne on Thursday.

Ms Jackson, who declared bankruptcy late last month and denies any wrongdoing, is being sued by the HSU for upwards of $2.5 million.

She has not appeared in the Federal Court for the civil trial, in which the HSU alleges Ms Jackson misappropriated about $660,000 in union funds.

Barrister Mark Irving, acting for the HSU, told the court on Wednesday that Ms Jackson used a work credit card to buy personal items including gifts for staff, coffee with colleagues, more than $2000 worth of interior furnishings, a boozy group dinner at the Press Club restaurant, PlayStation games and videos, and family groceries.

He further alleged Ms Jackson, the former HSU national secretary, used some or all of about $100,000 withdrawn from the account to fund her divorce proceedings.

Ms Jackson wrote to the court to say she could not afford to be represented at the trial and that the matter was now a claim against her estate.