The Government has provided a comprehensive update on the Government’s Home Insulation Safety Plan. The Home Insulation Program (HIP) was closed in February last year. The Home Insulation Safety Plan was subsequently developed and included a comprehensive safety inspection component.
- Under the Foil Insulation Safety Program (FISP) all households with foil insulation installed under the HIP were offered a safety inspection, with the option of having the foil insulation removed or, on the advice of a licensed electrician, safety switches installed.
- Under the Home Insulation Safety Program (HISP) the Government committed to inspect a minimum of 150,000 households insulated with products other than foil insulation. These inspections were targeted at installations based on a risk assessment.
In addition to the Government-initiated inspections, any household with insulation installed under the HIP has been able to request a safety inspection through the Safety Hotline (13 17 92). Based on the result of independent advice and analysis the Government will conclude both the HISP and FISP upon completion of the committed inspections.
An independent review by the CSIRO of the government’s inspection program show that 24% of dwellings did not comply with Australian Building Codes standards. Safety risk is not the same as fire risk. CSIRO’s analysis also shows that the risk of a fire incident occurring in homes with insulation installed under the HIP has now fallen to around 2.5 incidents per 100,000 homes.
The full CSIRO report, along with a comprehensive update, is available at http://www.climatechange.gov.au/en/government/programs-and-rebates/hisp/reports.aspx.
