Knockers is used as a slang for a female breast. The public servant of the Commonwealth Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, was sacked after a software programme, called Spector360, was set up by the department to catch any use of the word "knockers", The Sydney Morning Herald reported Thursday.
According to the Commonwealth Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, it had clear policies against the use of work computers for pornography and it regarded it as a "very serious matter".
The Commonwealth Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism had always made it clear that it monitored computer use.
The public servant argued in the Federal Court in Canberra that the searches by Spector360, while he was at home, were a "gross" breach of his privacy and the department had given him the laptop for personal use.
"It may well be harsh - there will be those who think it inhumane - but that is not the requisite standard," the judge said.
Justice Perram in his judgment said the senior public servant, who was also on an IT committee, should have been aware that he was being monitored.
The judge dismissed his application and ordered him to pay the department's costs.