The former Australian Federal Police officer was deployed between November 2013 and August 2014 to Papua New Guinea, where he claimed he was one of "70 officers wearing full uniforms but with no firearms or bulletproof vests and no powers".

In the meantime, he said, local police were running rampant.

Mr Turner said he saw them flatten a village with bulldozers, kill people in their path, and murder en masse in "ethnic cleansing" sanctioned by the local government. He said he also heard first-hand accounts of local police raping women.

Mr Turner returned to Australia in 2015 traumatised by what he had seen, and went to Comcare to seek workers' compensation.

The federal workplace insurer delayed processing Mr Turner's claim because the AFP denied the atrocities ever happened.

Mr Turner said: "The AFP even went so far as telling Comcare that a close family member had been sexually assaulted as an alternate theory for my injury."

His claim got up some months later when he presented the insurer with "proof". But by then, Mr Turner had psychosis and his post-traumatic stress disorder was "raging". It was also only the start of a long battle with Comcare.

"The photos don't lie - there were burning buses, dead people, and troves of reporting in the media," Mr Turner said.

"The point is, I shouldn't have had to need the photos - my employer should have helped me and supported me from the start.

"Witnessing these atrocities has totally wrecked my life."

Comcare recognised Mr Turner had sustained a workplace injury and went on to assist him, but as of Friday, he was yet to hear back about his claim for a permanent impairment payment.

Mr Turner's solicitor, Katrina Stouppos of Shine Lawyers, said the insurer told the former AFP officer he would have an outcome by June 26.

"Regrettably, he is still waiting," Ms Stouppos said.

"You would expect a higher standard of service and better level of care, communication and client support for our former serving officers."

Mr Turner said he had felt "challenged and questioned every step of the way" of the Comcare process. In 2019, the insurer paid for therapy sessions to treat his depression.

"When I needed further sessions, Comcare refused, saying that they had not accepted my depression was work-related," he said.

"I got PTSD serving my country and I think the people of Australia would be disappointed to learn about how we are treated."

Former AFP member, Benjamin Legge, said the federal workplace insurer's approach was to not believe anybody.

He said he was left with no choice but to resign from the AFP in October 2019 after a psychiatrist deemed him fit for duty despite his depression.

Mr Legge took extended periods of leave from the agency after the 2018 suicide of a close colleague in its Safe Place unit.

He also witnessed what he described as "rampant" racism, bullying, sexism and transphobia at the AFP.

"I was sitting [in the AFP's operations coordination centre] and I was hearing a supervisor saying to one of the other girls there that she thought it was wrong [to have] a transgender woman using a female changeroom in a shop because 'you don't know what they're up to'," Mr Legge said.

"Comments like that, I just couldn't believe."

Mr Legge approached Comcare for workers' compensation earlier this year, but the insurer rejected his claim on grounds his colleague's suicide was not work-related.

Because of that rejection, Mr Legge was not eligible for his 10-year service medal; the time he'd taken off work was considered leave without pay rather than leave for workers' compensation.

"The actual [Comcare] process itself is quite horrific," Mr Legge said.

"With psychological or mental health issues, there's nothing there to support you going through it."

Mr Legge said a psychiatrist who evaluated him as part of the Comcare process told him he couldn't be depressed because he only went to see his psychologist every three or four weeks.

His Comcare claim was being reconsidered by the insurer. Solicitor Ms Stouppos said: "The fact that Comcare won't accept that the suicide of Benjamin's closest work colleague was related to his employment is outrageous.

"Shine Lawyers are investigating Benjamin's legal options."

Lawyer David Healey is also assisting Mr Legge in his fight with Comcare.

In response to Mr Legge and Mr Turner's allegations, a spokesman for the federal workplace insurer said it couldn't discuss individuals' matters. However, he said workers' compensation claims were determined in accordance with the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act.

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The spokesman said the insurer recognised that the process for workers' compensation could sometimes be adversarial, and it encouraged collaboration between claimants, their employers and treatment providers.

"Claims for psychological injury are assessed on whether: a condition exists [and] the condition has been significantly contributed to by employment, and none of the legislative exclusions apply," he said.

"We continue to progress alternative dispute resolution initiatives, such as mediation, for appropriate matters."

The AFP was not allowed to discuss Mr Legge or Mr Turner's matters either, but a spokesman said the agency put the highest priority on the physical and mental health of its people.

"The AFP takes an evidence-based approach to health support and allows staff members to engage with the AFP health team or their own treating practitioners," the spokesman said.

"In particular, over the past few years the AFP has engaged professional expertise and support from both inside and outside Australia to ensure we are looking after our workforce as best we can."