NSW public sector psychiatrists have won a 20 per cent interim pay rise for 12 months, following a ruling in the state's Industrial Relations Commission (IRC).

More than 200 public hospital psychiatrists tendered their resignations earlier this year in a dispute with the government over pay and conditions.

Psychiatrists and the Australian Salaried Medical Officer's Federation were pushing for a 25 per cent pay rise in the commission, arguing the state's public mental health system was at breaking point.

In handing down his ruling on Friday, Justice David Chin accepted arguments made by staff specialist psychiatrists that low pay was contributing to falling standards of patient care.

"There is an acute shortage of psychiatric staff specialists which is causing a deterioration in the qua

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