Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet said that the decision was based on advice received from the Electrical Safety Office in Queensland, which recommended that horizontally laid foil insulation be removed or, alternatively, that safety switches be installed in household electrical circuits.

He said that similar advice had been received from organisations including Master Electricians Australia and the National Electrical Contractors Association.

Foil insulation has been installed in approximately 50,300 homes, the vast majority in Queensland and northern New South Wales.

“I am advised that foil insulation products, if used and installed correctly, are safe and effective products and that they will continue to be widely used in the construction industry,” said Mr Combet.

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“Foil product is most commonly used as insulation lining around external walls and rooves, inside the wall cladding and roof cladding during home construction. However, because of its conductivity, and its proximity to electrical wiring, it is now held that horizontally laid foil insulation on the ceiling joists is unsafe.”

The Federal Government has said that the electrical safety inspections of all foil insulation installed under the Federal Government scheme will still be carried out.

Further details concerning the removal of these installations will be made “as soon as possible,” Mr Combet said.

The Home Insulation Program was recently cancelled and a new portfolio created to take over the future scheme.