The federal government has formally responded to the findings of the Royal Commission into the $2.7 billion Home Insulation Program (HIP).
The response aims to address the failings of the HIP which ran from 2009 to 2010 and resulted in the deaths of four young men, three who were electrocuted installing insulation and a fourth who died from heat exhaustion.
There were also 224 house fires under the program. The litany of failures led to a Royal Commission headed by Ian Hangar, QC.
In September last year Hangar presented the findings of the Royal Commission to government with the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, announcing that compensation will be provided to families and small businesses affected by the failed program.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt said discretionary payments should be finalised early this year.
He said the government is also committed to providing payments to pre-existing businesses adversely affected by the HIP.
"The government has commenced a process for determining and making discretionary payments to eligible pre-existing insulation businesses," Hunt said adding that payments should be made by the middle of 2015.
The next step is achieving a national approach to roof space safety across all states and territories via COAG.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has also announced an independent review of government processes to be undertaken by the former secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Peter Shergold, who is a strong
advocate of effective public policy implementation.
He will be assisted by the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) with the review completed mid-2015.
The APSC is also undertaking a review of the roles and responsibilities of individual public servants during the HIP to examine governance and accountability arrangements.
This review is expected to conclude late February 2015.