There have been 56,500 safety inspections of homes with foil insulation; and 100,000 inspections of homes with non-foil insulation, up to January 30, 2010.

The figures were released by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (DCCEE) as latest update on the Home Insulation Safety Plan (HISP).

The DCCEE said floods will affect some home insulation inspections.

The Department has suspended planned safety inspections in the flood-affected areas of Queensland, NSW and Victoria until houses are safely accessible and homeowners have had an opportunity to recover.

In the meantime, safety inspections can still be obtained by concerned householders who had insulation installed under the Home Insulation Program (HIP), as long as their home can safely be reached by road.

Tender applications are currently being assessed to provide inspection and rectification services for the next phase of the HISP.

Successful tender applicants will conduct safety inspections, rectifications and specialist inspections of insulation installed during the HIP.

The free safety inspections being provided to householders that had non-foil insulation installed under the HIP are being carried out by teams made up of two inspectors carrying photo identification.

The inspectors are trained to identify safety issues relating to insulation installed under the Home Insulation Program and fix these, whenever possible, on the day of inspection at no cost to the householder. If complex repairs are required because of insulation safety issues, they will be rescheduled for a date agreed with the householders and also paid for by the Australian Government.

UGL Services have now engaged almost 400 inspectors to conduct Phase 1 HISP safety inspections, including personnel from 47 installation companies who worked under the HIP.

The level of interest in HISP participation has been greater than the opportunities available and UGL Services is not currently offering any new contracts to installers and companies for Phase 1 of the HISP Program.

UGL Services will continue to accept expressions of interest from SMEs but are letting applicants know that their likelihood of participation in the program may be low.

Go to www.climatechange.gov.au/hisp for more information.