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A manager's email about an employee's absence from work was a "bolt out of the blue" that caused his psychological injury, a tribunal has ruled in rejecting the employer's reasonable administrative action defence.

The employee, an assistant manager with the Australian Communications and Media Authority, claimed workers' compensation for a major depressive disorder with anxiety and panic disorder, allegedly caused by being overworked and bullied by his manager.

Comcare denied liability and he appealed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Tribunal heard that the employee's relationship with the manager became fractured soon after they started working together, and he developed a perception that she was "against" him...