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A tribunal has criticised Australia Post for its "witch hunt" of an impressionable worker, whose psychological injury stemmed from bored colleagues making jokes at her expense.

Administrative Appeals Tribunal Member Anna Burke said Australia Post's response to the employee's workers' compensation claim was "the optima of what is wrong with the current Comcare system", and noted she was "baffled" why the employee was encouraged to pursue the claim given the "limited" economic benefit and long-term damage to her recovery.

She said she was concerned by Australia Post's "approach of traumatising a vulnerable person by conducting what seemed like a witch hunt", noting, "there surely has to be a better way to deal with complex workplace issues instead of simply lawyering up..."