Senator Van faces allegations from former Coalition senator

Mr Dutton dumped the Victorian senator from the Liberal party room on Thursday, over multiple allegations.

Former Coalition senator Amanda Stoker on Thursday evening joined independent senator Lidia Thorpe in alleging inappropriate behaviour by Senator Van. Mr Dutton said a third allegation had been raised with him.

"I raised another allegation with Senator Van, but I'm not going to comment in relation to those matters otherwise," he told Nine's Today program.

"I made a decision yesterday based on all of the information that was available to me ... that's a decision I don't regret at all.

"I believe it is in the best interests of the Liberal Party and that's what I have acted upon and I don't want Senator Van sitting in our party room. I have made that clear."

Meanwhile, Senator Van has responded to recent sexual assault allegations saying he was "utterly shattered" and "stunned".

"I am utterly shattered by the events of the past days and stunned that my good reputation can be so wantonly savaged without due process or accountability," he said on Friday morning.

"I will fully cooperate with whatever process Mr Dutton proposes to determine these matters as quickly and fairly as possible.

"While I understand the public interest is high, I will not be making any more public statements on the allegations until a proper examination of these claims is concluded."

Senator Van has also said he had no recollection of the alleged incident and he would never have acted inappropriately towards his then-colleague.

On Thursday evening, former senator Stoker alleged Senator Van squeezed her bottom twice in 2020 at a social gathering in a parliamentary office, calling it "unprofessional and uninvited".

Ms Stoker said in a statement she had raised the matter with Senator Van, received an apology "and it never happened again".

"I would have preferred that the matter be resolved privately and finally - as I thought it was," she said.

"However, following Senator Thorpe's allegations, it is now clear that is no longer tenable."

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe on Wednesday made allegations of sexual assault against Senator Van under parliamentary privilege. She later withdrew the comments to comply with Senate standing orders. Senator Van denies the allegations.

Ms Stoker said the alleged incident was not accidental, by "its nature and by its repetition". "That action was not appropriate. It was unprofessional and uninvited."

The former Coalition senator said she believed all women "should be free from unwanted advances and confident to speak up".

"I promptly advised a senior female colleague about the incident, and of the action I had taken," she explained.

"I did so to ensure that if there were any other incidents of which I was not aware, or any future reports, they could be dealt with appropriately."

Speaking to media on Thursday, Mr Dutton said: "As such, I met with Senator Van this morning and a short time ago I advised Senator Van of my decision that he should no longer sit in the Liberal Party party room.

"At the outset, I want to make clear, very clear, that I'm not making any judgement on the veracity of allegations or any individual's guilt or innocence - I make that very clear."

Mr Dutton referred the matter to the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service to consider, a step welcomed by Senator Van when he spoke in the Senate on Thursday afternoon.

"There should be and must be an investigation into these outrageous claims, so they can be proved to be false," Senator Van said in the Senate.

"I will fully cooperate with investigators and answer any questions that they may have of me and Senator Thorpe should do the same.

"I'll answer any questions put to me by my own party as well."

Senator Van denied the allegations made by Senator Thorpe in the Senate once more, and called for her to withdraw the personal statement she gave on Thursday.

Senator Thorpe tearfully addressed the Senate on Thursday to outline allegations of sexual assault within Parliament's walls, and detailed inappropriate behaviour on more than one occasion.

She told the chamber the President of the Senate, Sue Lines, had asked her to withdraw her comments and she was doing so in order to comply with parliamentary standing orders.

Instead she gave a statement which did not name anyone, and included details of an incident in which she said a man followed and cornered her in a stairwell in Parliament.

"There are different understandings of what amounts to sexual assault and what I experienced was being followed, aggressively propositioned and inappropriately touched," she said.

It was not an isolated incident Senator Thorpe said, adding: "There are others I could name who have inappropriately touched me, invaded my space and knowingly made me feel unsafe. I am disappointed by the reaction of the senator."

with AAP