Hundreds of psychiatrists working in NSW hospitals have won a temporary 20 per cent pay rise in a decision designed to lure doctors back to a stretched public sector and end a bitter workforce dispute.

In a long-awaited determination delivered on Friday, the NSW Industrial Relations Commission found an acute shortage of psychiatrists was “causing a deterioration in the quality of mental health care delivered in NSW and a deterioration in the conditions” of staff specialist psychiatrists employed in the state’s public hospitals.

The NSW government has previously said it would honour the commission’s verdict.

Commission vice president David Chin said lower salaries in NSW contributed to the deterioration in mental health services, and awarded a 10 per cent recruitment and retention allowa

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