The cost of installing ceiling insulation will be slashed in one state with the government insisting it won't spark a repeat of the deadly "pink batts" disaster.
From early 2026, Victorian homeowners can access big discounts on fitting ceiling insulation through the expansion of a long-running energy upgrades program.
The discounts, unveiled on Tuesday, are expected to halve installation costs from $3000 to $1500 on average.
Owners must hire an accredited professional rather than doing it themselves and the discount is initially restricted to homes that aren't fitted with any insulation.
Premier Jacinta Allan suggested retrofitting homes with ceiling insulation would slash energy bills by $400 a year.
"We're going to target, first and foremost, the approximately 200,000 homes across the state who don't currently have insulation," she told reporters in Northcote.
"That makes it really challenging to heat in winter and cool in summer."
Properties that require a top-up will become eligible at a later date, while new builds are also ineligible as housing standards already require them to be fitted with insulation.
Subsidised insulation schemes have a dark history in Australia following the ill-fated federal "pink batts" affair.
Under the $2.7 billion scheme to combat the 2008 global financial crisis, the Rudd government planned to insulate two million homes in two-and-a-half years.
But the program was shut down following the deaths of four workers in NSW and Queensland in 2009 and 2010.
Matthew Fuller, 25, Rueben Barnes, 16, and Mitchell Sweeney, 22, were electrocuted, while Marcus Wilson, 19, died of heat exhaustion.
Former environment minister Peter Garrett was demoted following calls for his resignation and a royal commission later found the scheme was "poorly planned and poorly implemented".
Ms Allan said she was confident there would be no repeat of the bungle under the state program because of its regulatory safeguards.
"This is a vastly different program, indeed it's not a comparable program," the premier said.
"We share a commitment to delivering this program and this project safely."
Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio pointed out none of the pink batt-related deaths happened in the state.
"There were no real impacts at all here in Victoria," she said.
"Victoria has had a very, very good track record in insulation installation and we aim to now make ceiling insulation much more available to ordinary Victorians."
