Mr Garrett said the measures followed findings of examples of dangerous ‘live’ insulation in roofs, emphasising that householder safety is the “absolute priority” under the program.

There have been two deaths linked to installation of the foil insulation. A spokesperson for Mr Garrett confirmed that two other deaths have occurred under the program, one caused by a pre-existing electrical fault and not involving foil insulation, and one which is still under police investigation.

Following home insulation installations, householders will now be able to engage a licensed electrician to conduct a safety inspection and rectification work where necessary.

The electrician will be able to seek reimbursement of the costs from the Federal Government. Electrical safety issues that are identified as a result of these inspections will be rectified and the Federal Government will seek to recover the costs from the installer, including withholding payments for other installations.

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Installers who have not complied with program guidelines will be deregistered and have their details included on a 'name and shame' register.

The Government will also eventually engage one or more organisations to ensure that all homes with foil insulations installed under the program are inspected.

Mr Garrett said that all households that have had foil insulation installed under the program will be contacted over the coming months to be advised of their situation and options.

In the meantime a hotline has been set up to provide information to affected householders. The hotline number is 131 792.

Meanwhile, Mr Garrett has also ordered an external inquiry into the Rudd Government’s Green Loans program. The inquiry will look into all contractual agreements and procurement processes entered into during the final design and implementation of the program.

External audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers will conduct the inquiry, which will also build on an audit of the Green Loans program’s accreditation process that is already underway.

Mr Garrett said that it was clear that some of the elements of the program are not working as effectively as they should. In particular he mentioned long call centre waits for assessment and householder bookings, as well as delayed household assessment reports.