An appeal by disgraced former union secretary Kathy Jackson against an order to pay $1.4 million in compensation for misappropriating funds has been dismissed by the Federal Court.

Ms Jackson was ordered to pay $1.4 million to her former employer, the Health Services Union (HSU), after the court found she had used its money to fund a lavish lifestyle.

The union told the court she set up a slush fund with the proceeds of a settlement with Melbourne’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

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It said she then funnelled the money into an opulent lifestyle, including purchasing luxury goods and valuable artwork, along with fine wine and dining.

Ms Jackson was also ordered to pay a further $67, 912 of overpaid salary.

She filed two appeals in October, arguing the primary judge should not have allowed the case against her to proceed.

She also claimed Labor leaders, including Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, had been working against her and that documents in the case had been destroyed, leaving “gaping holes” in the evidence.

But the HSU filed an objection to competency in both appeals and they were upheld by the court.

The HSU argued that Ms Jackson had no standing to bring the appeals as she was bankrupt.

It also claimed she had not sought or been granted leave to appeal, and in part of her appeal she had failed to specify the grounds on which she was appealing.

The court found these objections should be upheld and the appeal was dismissed as incompetent.

She declared bankruptcy just before the original trial and chose not to attend the original proceedings, and was not in court for Thursday’s ruling.