Former Australian gold medallist Chantelle Newbery charged and sentenced to prison

It was the highest of highs in 2004 for Australian Olympic diver Chantelle Newbery as she claimed the gold medal in the 10m platform event at the Athens Olympics.

After becoming the first Australian Olympic diver to win gold in more than 80 years at the Olympics, Newbery has found herself on the wrong side of the law, on more than one occasion.

In 2014, policed found methamphetamines and used syringes when they raided the gold medalist's home.

She faced court where she pleaded guilty to possessing drugs and syringes. The court placing Newbery on a drug diversion programme, but did not record a conviction.

She was also fined $300 for breaching bail after failing to turn up at an earlier appearance.

Her fall from grace continued this month when she was arrested on November 2 after failing to appear in court on two separate occasions.

Magistrate Viviana Keegan refused bail and stated that Newbery "should not be treated any differently from the general public" and that "her long criminal history shows a complete and utter disregard for conditions".

The 45-year-old fronted court once again today where she pleaded guilty to six counts of stealing, along with two counts of failing to appear and one count of contravening direction or requirement of police, the ABC reported.

The charges stem from September 26 when Newbery was caught stealing from several stores with goods worth a total of more than $1000.

Newbery was handed a wholly suspended three-month sentence and will be required to report to the Toowoomba Police Station once a week to fulfil her parole requirements.

Her lawyer Robert Burns called the case "one of the most difficult he'd ever dealt with" and described his clients "meteoric fall from grace" to the court.

In 2014, Newbery opened up about her battles with depression and drugs in an interview with A Current Affair, stating she resorted to taking drugs — on and off — around the time of her mother's death in 2012.

"I have experimented with a couple of things but I wouldn't say I was a drug user," said Newbery, who suffers from chronic depression.

"One and off, perhaps every now and then, but there has been no period of time when I have been using drugs or anything like it," Newbery said.