Errol Camillery, a hall-keeper with the City of Ballarat and an employee there for more than 13 years, has denied the allegations before the Industrial Relations Commission, claiming he was dismissed unfairly.

Camillery told the commission he innocently opened an email on a work computer mid-last year which brought up a page of pornographic images, but never did he intentionally access any child pornography or bestiality web sites.

He said since his dismissal last year he had sought counselling and medical treatment, and his family had been deeply traumatised.

The commission heard the City of Ballarat sacked Camillery in August last year because it believed he had been accessing ''inappropriate internet sites'' on an upstairs computer which controlled the air-conditioning system.

City of Ballarat's lawyer Gary Katz said temporary Internet files containing pornographic material were found on the computer used by Camillery, when it was sent away to be serviced last August.

Mr Katz alleged that a subsequent investigation into the City of Ballarat's Internet history showed that Camillery had made inappropriate Internet access ''over a long period of time''.

Camillery admitted that he did open an email on the computer on one occasion last year and that suddenly pornographic images had bounced across the screen.

He said he tried to click out of the page but it brought up another screen which required credit card details to enter the site.

Camillery said the images did not involve children or bestiality, nor did he enter his credit card details.

The hearing before Commissioner Blair will continue in Ballarat today.