Australians have just been asked which professions they consider the most ethical and honest.

You guessed it: car salesmen are at the bottom of the list. They have held that position for more than 30 years. Scraping along the bottom with them are advertisers, real estate agents and state MPs.

The latest Roy Morgan "Image of Professions" survey asked respondents to rate or score people in various occupations for honesty and ethical standards.

And the results confirm our favourite prejudices.