Brooke Costa says she endured inappropriate sexual comments from her comrades at Richmond air base, outside Sydney, and a lack of protection by senior officers left her feeling ''uncomfortable and unsafe'' while serving.

But Ms Costa, who has a chronic major depressive disorder and bruxism, a condition that makes the sufferer constantly grind their teeth, has been denied workers' compensation by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission.

Her challenge to that decision in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal failed after evidence showed she told treating doctors during and after her service that her psychological problems were caused by family, marital and money problems.

Ms Costa was born in 1977 and served with the air force from 2000 until she was medically discharged in 2007, and has not worked since.

The tribunal, sitting in Canberra, was told the behaviour of some of her male comrades made much of her time at Richmond an uncomfortable experience.

''General stressful experiences on service concerned inappropriate sexual comments by superiors in the workplace which, because she lived on base, included social occasions as well, and the failure by more senior personnel to police the non-fraternisation policy - which she said left her feeling uncomfortable and unsafe,'' the tribunal noted.

''As a result, she said she could not trust senior personnel to protect her.

''She also found the service culture difficult and increasingly tried to withdraw from social events and began to question her career choice.''

Ms Costa had been treated for depression before she enlisted, so she had to prove that her military service made her pre-existing condition worse to be eligible for workers' compensation.

But reports from psychiatrists and psychologists who treated the former RAAF woman during and after her service, pointed to other factors; her tumultuous relationship with her husband and family, as causes of her mental troubles.

The tribunal accepted that there were multiple causes of her illness and that she found the culture of the RAAF difficult.

''The tribunal accepts that there are multiple reasons why Ms Costa's psychological condition became chronic while on service, ultimately leading to her being medically discharged,'' senior tribunal member Robin Creyke said.

''Ms Costa found the culture on service difficult to accept.

''She objected to being spoken strongly to, a factor which she described as harassment, and to comments by male members of the forces, generally more senior to her, which had sexual connotations.''

But the tribunal decided the work problems were ''mere contributing factors'', that did not cause her condition ''in a material degree'', and that she was not entitled to compensation.