An Australian mother who faked her six-year-old son's cancer diagnosis to solicit donations and fund her lavish lifestyle has been sentenced to more than four years in prison.

The 45-year-old from South Australia shaved her son's head and eyebrows, bandaged his head and hands, and medicated him as part of a ruse to trick family and friends into raising thousands of dollars.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in acts likely to cause harm to her son and 10 counts of deception.

At a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, a District Court judge described her actions as "cruel", "calculated" and "manipulative".

The woman's deception started after her son went to see an ophthalmologist, a specialist eye doctor, after an accident, the court heard.

After that appointment, she told her husband, family, friends and her school community that her son had eye cancer.

She forced her son to use a wheelchair and limited his daily activities to make people think he was receiving radiation treatment. She also gave him pain relief and health supplements, local media have reported.

In court, the prosecution said that the mother had "selfishly used her son as a prop to deceive" loved ones and the wider community, then used donations so the family could live "the life of the rich and famous".

The woman's lawyer said she had developed a gambling addiction after the Covid-19 pandemic and "capitalised" on her son's accident, but that she never meant to hurt him or the family.

Rather, the mother-of-two had made a "monumental and grave lapse in judgement to selfishly ease her financial stress", her lawyer told the court.

They said the woman had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and accepted her wrongdoing by pleading guilty.

"She regrettably spent more than her earnings allowed and was living beyond her means," her lawyer said, with a "foolish and misguided" belief her family needed "the latest brands".

Her husband was initially charged, but police later dropped the case against him.

In his victim impact statement, he said his wife had "destroyed me and my children's lives".

"I had complete trust in you as my wife, and I never doubted you. I was devoted to our family. Now I feel like a pawn in a chess game."

Outside the court, the husband told the media that "no sentence can ever justify what has been done to my children", according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The woman was sentenced to four years and three months in prison, but will be eligible for parole next April.