Of the 10 claims lodged with the workplace compensation agency relating to psychological injury so far, nine were rejected.

Only one was partially overturned.

Several public servants dubbed employment the primary cause of their permanent or temporary mental illness.

Some could not attribute their condition to their job within the legal framework of their case.

Others were unable to display a connection between their psychological condition and their workplace at all.

The mental health conditions among this year's cases include aggravation of post-traumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorders and single depressive episodes.

Six of the employees appealing this year's Comcare decisions were Canberra-based public servants. Three were based in NSW, one was based in Queensland and one was based in Western Australia.

One Canberra-based public servant appealed a decision rejecting compensation for an adjustment disorder as a direct result of a hostile relationship with her supervisor. But administrative actions – which had allegedly led to the condition – were not found to be unreasonable.

Another appeal determined a Canberra applicant's distress was not tied strongly to her job and that her "inherent personality sensitivities" impacted on her social interactions with others.

One review understood how a Sydney-based public servant felt she was treated unfairly in regards to an application for a different government position but found the situation was still reasonable and the previous decision not to compensate her adjustment disorder was affirmed.

Another whittled down to the permanency of the Brisbane appellant's work-related depressive disorder.

Public service mental health has be in the spotlight this year following a rise in psychological injury claims in recent years.

The workforce's wellbeing handbook, Working together: Promoting mental health and wellbeing at work, was released in March to help managers and employees promote mental health in the office.

According to the most recent State of the Service Report, the median sick leave rate for agencies between 2012 and 2013 was 9.5 days for employees at large agencies, 8.4 for medium agencies and 7.8 for small agencies.

Stress leave statistics are difficult to determine from these figures.

However, psychological injury claims are four times more common in the public service and were up 30 per cent in the three years to 2013.

While they accounted for less than 10 per cent of "compensable" injuries they made up more than 35 per cent of the cost of claims.

Workers claiming for psychological harm took more than a year to get back to their desks on average, compared with four months for victims of falls, slips and trips.