Another 77 government workers were either counselled or handed written warnings in 2012-13 for stepping outside the bounds of the Public Sector Management Act, according to the commissioner for public administration.

Commissioner Andrew Kefford says workplace reforms in the service have prompted a rise in reports of bureaucrats behaving badly, but he will be worried if the number of complaints he receives does not drop off soon.

The commissioner's annual report reveals only 19 allegations of bullying or harassment were substantiated within the 20,000-strong service in the 12-month period, despite the number of accusations surging to 118.

According to the annual State of the Service report, the largest number of alleged breaches during the year were for incompetence, followed by failures to treat fellow workers or members of the public with enough respect.

Of the 134 public servants punished last year for failing to live up to the code, contained in section nine of the act, 16 were sacked, 35 were formally warned and 42 were given counselling.

Mr Kefford noted in his report that efforts had been made through changes to the code of conduct and other workplace reforms ''to create a common language, structure and permission within the ACT public service for officials to speak out about alleged poor behaviour by their colleagues''.

''Given the level of internal and external attention around misconduct in the ACT public sector and the release of the code of conduct, an increase in reports of alleged misconduct is not unexpected,'' the commissioner wrote.

''During the reporting period there was an increase in complaints received by the commissioner and it will become a matter of concern if there is not a levelling out and subsequent decline in such reports as efforts to foster positive workplace cultures begin to take effect.''

According to the reports, 125 investigations into code-of-conduct offences were finalised in 2012-13, with 59 public servants found to have acted incompetently and 52 with discourtesy or disrespect.

Thirty-five breaches of harassment policies were found, while 26 public servants were found to have not acted with probity, 36 failed to comply with territory laws, and another 32 bureaucrats found themselves in trouble for simply failing to do what they were told.