In a career that has spanned three decades, two cases still haunt NSW's Chief Magistrate Judge Graeme Henson.

One was about child pornography, the other was a care and protection matter he presided over.

The photos broke his heart.

"It was a baby lying in a cot covered with faeces and crawling in cockroaches," he said.

"I thought, how could anybody treat a child like that?"

Even in a profession as tough as the judiciary, Judge Henson is a force to be reckoned with.

It is not unusual for him to berate prosecutors for wasting time, verbally lash lawyers for being unprepared or tell offenders to "grow up" and stop wasting their lives.

The 69-year-old's role, overseeing 134 magistrates in local courts, children's and coroner's courts, makes him among NSW's most powerful people.

Judges seldom speak to the media but Judge Henson has decided to break his silence to put the spotlight on the mental health of his profession.

Judge Henson said magistrates in NSW typically had a caseload of about 3,500, and were not walls of stone.

"It's a bit like war in some respects," he said.

"The more you're exposed to it the more you can cope with it, up to a point.

"But there's no doubt there are levels of vicarious trauma accumulated by magistrates dealing with child pornography offences, child protection offences, domestic violence and sex offences.

"It affects you."

Former magistrate Dominique Burns once described her workload as "crushing". ( ABC News: Jade Macmillan )

The pressure on Australian magistrates and judges has been in the spotlight recently, with research by Melbourne University finding they are under considerable occupational stress and at risk of suffering PTSD and burnout.

Former Port Macquarie magistrate Dominique Burns once described her workload as "crushing" and NSW District Court judge Robyn Tupman recently told a court the workload on the judiciary was so intense she feared for the mental health of her younger colleagues.

And when two Melbourne magistrates — Jacinta Dwyer and Stephen Myall — took their own lives in 2017 and 2018 respectively, massive shockwaves rippled through Victoria's legal community.

Judge Henson said there were times when magistrates came out of court in tears, and though they became used to coping with public criticism, they were "only human".

"They invest professional time, insight and compassion into the sentences they impose — they get disappointed," he said.

"It becomes part of the context of judging in a modern era."

'Health and family first, job second'

Local Courts are generally the first point of exposure to the legal system for most people in NSW.

Along with handling domestic violence, assault, robbery, drug and driving offences, magistrates also conduct committal hearings to determine whether offences needed to be moved up to the District or Supreme Courts.

The Judge said it could be a lonely job, especially in country areas.

Judge Henson says magistrates will only cope if they put their hand up for help. ( ABC News: Taryn Southcombe )

"There's a difference between the city and the country," he said.

"If you're the magistrate, say, on the Griffith circuit, then you're the only one there, so you're the coroner, children's magistrate, local court magistrate and the one dealing with the family law matters."

When it came to looking after the mental health of magistrates, he believed it must start with them looking after themselves.

"I tell every magistrate I appoint to put their health and family first and the job second.

"It's important to keep that mantra in your mind and have the willingness to put your hand up if you're not coping," he said.