An Australian man charged with one count of obtaining $537,000 by deception today pleaded guilty to the charge at Christchurch District Court.

Daniel Kive Albert was arrested while visiting New Zealand late last year, and had been on bail in the country ever since.

He had originally been facing two charges of obtaining property of more than $1000 by deception.

However his lawyer Fletcher Pilditch told the court that two charges had been amalgamated into one, which had been amended, and to which Albert now pleaded guilty.

The charges dated from offending between September 2007 and August 2008.

He would be sentenced in Christchurch on December 21.