Felicity Kim Frederickson, living in Greendale at the time, was an assistant accountant at Tripod Farms, and between October 2014 and September 2017, she duplicated invoices on 43 occasions to steal $174,634.55.

The Ballarat Magistrates' Court was told she used "the bulk of it" to pay off her mortgage and school fees, as her family had found itself in "significant" debt.

She had hidden her offending from her husband and family, the court was told, with her husband only finding out when they tried to sell their house in 2018 that she had been interviewed by police in October 2017.

Magistrate Letizia Torres sentenced Frederickson to 12 months in prison, with a non-parole period of six months.

She said Frederickson's offending was "very, very serious".

"It is a huge amount of money over a long period of time," she said.

"You've essential done so, so you could live beyond your means."

The court was also told she has been shunned by her family since they learned of the offending, and has had unstable accommodation since 2018.

A compensation order to pay off the rest of the money, $74,000, was made in favour of Tripod Farms, from Bacchus Marsh.

Frederickson's defence said she had pleaded guilty at an early opportunity.

"Everything was her full responsibility," she said.

"It's distinguished from more complex frauds."

Frederickson has no prior convictions and had cooperated significantly with police.

A letter of apology was tended as evidence, as well as a psychologist's report.

Ms Torres said she took into account all the support that Frederickson had lost, including contact with her children and parents, and the difficulties in her relationship with her husband.

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