The woman – who could not bring herself to face the court on Thursday morning because she faced bankruptcy if she lost – said she felt her dignity had been restored. "I feel alive again," she said. She used her own money - plus pro-bono support from Hall Payne Lawyers - to lodge the appeal with Queensland Industrial Relations Commissioner Glenn Martin. "I'm happy, I sort of feel like my dignity has been restored," she said. Fairfax Media has declined to name the woman to preserve her professional identity.

"I'm so glad that Justice Martin saw it for what it was, and focused on the dismal management action that it is," she said. "It's just a shame myself, my family and other SLQ staff have had to go through so much to get sexual harassment by a senior staff member acknowledged. "I feel alive again." On December 22, 2014 Queensland Industrial Relations Commission ruled the photographing of the woman's cleavage was not a workplace issue, despite the photo being taken on a work-supplied iPhone at the library by the women's boss and then transferred to a library-supplied laptop. The woman's boss was caught at work at the State Library of Queensland with 2784 close-up photographs of women's breasts and cleavage on December 11, 2012.

That ruling has since been used by insurers to prevent workers on mine sites from claiming worker's compensation because the 'workplace' was only viewed as the background. The woman has since used her own money to appeal that finding, in hearings which began on April 23. On Thursday Justice Martin over-ruled the QIRC's ruling - finding the April ruling was "infected with error" - and upheld the woman's appeal. "The appellant has demonstrated that the decision was infected with error," Justice Martin said. "The appeal is allowed, the decision of the Commission is set aside," he said.

"And in its place the order is that the decision of Workcover is confirmed." Justice Martin found on Thursday in favour of every issue the woman raised in her appeal including the fact the lewd photography directly contributed to her psychiatric distress which put her on sick leave. The woman's lawyer, Wayne Hampton from Hall Payne Lawyers, said WorkCover had originally accepted the woman's claim for worker's compensation. "And it was only by the appeal by the employer (State Library of Queensland) that things dragged on and we had to go through a two-year battle," Mr Hampton said. "I think - despite the frequent criticisms by people of the legal system being out of touch - the decision this morning by Justice Martin is one that I think the majority of people would look at and say 'that makes sense'," he said.

Mr Hampton said many people had questioned the earlier ruling by "lower echelons" of the worker's compensation body that the lewd photographs of women's cleavage were not a workplace issue. "The ordinary person in the street would just look at that and say 'Well that just can't stand, I can't believe we are having this conversation in 2015," he said. "Well today's decision from Justice Martin clearly tells us such conduct isn't OK." The woman thanked her lawyers. "Thank goodness for my pro-bono support," she said.

"I would have got nowhere without it, I couldn't possibly represent myself against Crown Law in such a complex matter." Justice Martin allowed parties until Monday afternoon to lodge claims for costs. In a separate - however linked matter - the State Government on September 12 ordered Queensland's former Industrial Relations Commissioner Rachel Hunter to investigate the State Library of Queensland's handling of the lewd photography scandal. Findings of that inquiry are due by the end of October 2015. The allegations that female workers at the State Library of Queensland, female visitors to the State Library and female school students visiting the library were secretly photographed was first reported by Fairfax Media on Christmas Eve 2014.

Those allegations were investigated by the Crime and Misconduct Commission and State Librarian Janette Wright* has consistently defended her investigation into the lewd photography of women's breasts by her former senior employee. Daniel Abel - the original State Library of Queensland whistleblower for the allegations - said the worker's compensation finding was a victory for commonsense. "It's wonderful news and I am glad that commonsense and sanity has prevailed." * Correction: The article has been amended to correct the state librarian's surname.