The Fair Work Commission heard that middle-manager Stephen Sharp thought it was perfectly reasonable to use his Commonwealth-issued credit card to entertain himself while on work trips and was irritated when his bosses pulled him up on the unauthorised spending.

He was sacked in late 2013 for multiple breaches of the Australian Public Service code of conduct

The contraventions included car hire when there was no obvious need for a car, spending taxpayers' money on a meal on top of Mr Sharp's legitimate travel allowances and other instances of unapproved spending of Commonwealth funds.

The former level 1 executive was also accused of signing travel forms which did not reflect the true circumstances of the travel and making ATM withdrawals on his Commonwealth credit card in breach of policy.

While on a business journey to Brisbane, according to Defence, Mr Sharp hired a car for a private trip to the Gold Coast and billed taxpayers for the petrol.

Departmental bosses said he did the same thing for a trip to picturesque Hahndorf while he was in Adelaide on departmental business.

Another example cited by Defence to justify the sacking was Mr Sharp using his Commonwealth credit card to enjoy a meal at a Sydney restaurant, with all of those breaches coming after he had been warned about his use of Commonwealth funds.

But Mr Sharp took his case to Fair Work Australia claiming his dismissal was harsh, unfair or unjust.

But Fair Work Deputy President Greg Smith found that Mr Sharp thought he was entitled to spend Commonwealth money on himself.

"The examples are numerous and detailed in the materials, but Mr Sharp believed he had a sense of entitlement which was not consistent with the responsible expenditure of public funds," Mr Smith wrote in his decision.

"There was no evidence that he considered anything he had done was wrong and inconsistent with his level and role in public sector employment."

When asked about cash withdrawals on his Commonwealth credit card, Mr Sharp's response was that he was trying to survive and make ends meet.

He told the Commission that he genuinely believed the government should pay for any private expenses he incurred when travelling for work and at one point in the proceedings asked if he was expected to just sit in his hotel room and do nothing.

The Department told the commission that it defied belief that a person of Mr Sharp's education and role could hold the view that public funds could be used in the manner in which they were.

Mr Smith dismissed the former public servant's unfair dismissal claim.