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Government Insulation Safety Plan

Governemnt Insulation Initiative

Is your home insulated incorrectly?

Government Home Insulation Program and Safety Plan

As part of the $42 billion Nation Building – Economic Stimulus Plan, the Home Insulation Program (HIP) was announced on 3 February 2009. Under the HIP, around 1.2 million households were insulated at a cost of around $1.45 billion.

19 February 2010 the program was closed due to four tragic installer deaths and a number of fire incidents in households with insulation installed and escalating safety and compliance concerns.

What do you do if your home was installed with insulation under this plan?

Following this the Australian Government announced the Home Insulation Safety Plan to restore confidence to households that had insulation installed under the HIP. There are four key components of the Home Insulation Safety Plan:

Home Insulation Safety Plan

  • If your home was installed with foil insulation, under the HIP a safety inspection plus the option of having the foil removed or, on the advice of a licensed electrician, safety switches installed and light fittings in the roof spaces inspected. It should be noted that you should contact a licensed electrician before touching any part of the foil insulation or entering the roof space due to safety reasons.
  • If your home was installed with fibre glass insulation, under the HIP a safety inspection plus the option of having the fibre glass insulation removed or, on the advice of a licensed electrician, safety switches installed and light fitting in the roof spaces inspected.
  • Shonky workmanship also is inspected for. It is well known that a lot of the insulation installed under the program was installed by unlicensed installers without building knowledge and safety requirements. It is important to ensure your contractor is appropriately licensed.

Any household with insulation installed under the HIP is able to request a safety inspection through the Safety Hotline (13 17 92). Government initiated inspections ended in April 2011 however Householder-initiated inspections will continue until June 2012.

 

Article written by: Trades Check

Trades Check is Australia's #1 website to find local licensed tradesmen & tradeswomen near you.
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