A third of public service workers have experienced sexual harassment

The rate is the same as the general workforce, but well below industries such as media, retail trade and mining, according to the Australian Human Rights Commission's fourth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces.

More than 10,000 people were surveyed, with those working in public administration, defence or public order, safety and regulatory services identified as working in public administration and safety.

While in the workforce in general, women were more likely to report experiencing sexual harassment than men, in public administration 33 per cent of both men and women reported experiencing sexual harassment.

Those working in public administration and safety reported their workplace sexual harassment was witnessed by someone else at a higher rate than reported overall. In the public sector, 46 per cent of sexual harassment was witnessed by someone else, while in general the rate sat at 40 per cent.

The proportion of people who reported being victims of sexual harassment who also reported working in public administration and safety was 6 per cent, in line with the general proportion of the workforce.

Overall the report found sexually suggestive jokes or comments made up 31 per cent of harassment incidents, with intrusive questions about someone's private life or physical appearance making up 18 per cent of incidents.

"[The survey] confirms that sexual harassment is widespread and pervasive. An extraordinary number, one in three people, have experienced sexual harassment at work in the last five years. This is a marked increase in the prevalence rate recorded by previous surveys," Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins said in her introduction to the report.

"We cannot be certain if this is due to an increase in sexually harassing behaviours, or to greater awareness of the types of behaviours that constitute sexual harassment, or to other factors," she said.