An industry expert has told the royal commission into the Rudd government's home insulation scheme the program should not have been terminated.

Technical consultant James Fricker advised the federal Environment Department on home insulation for the national roll-out of the scheme five years ago.

An inquiry in Brisbane is examining whether the Labor government and its staff failed to heed safety warnings before four workers died on the job in 2009 and 2010.

In a written statement tendered at today's hearing, Mr Fricker said the early termination of the program was unwarranted as "teething problems, training, insulation sourcing, and safety issues, were largely overcome".

"The stimulus was achieving most of its goals with positive results, and most insulation companies were now geared up for rapid installations over the remainder of the two-year period," he said.

Mr Fricker also advised departmental staff involved in the scheme's design on the effectiveness of various insulation materials.

He said he supported the use of foil, but he knew the use of metal staples with foil could be deadly.

Two of the four workers who died were electrocuted while installing foil with metal staples.

Asked why he did not do more to make staff aware of the risk of installing foil insulation, Mr Fricker said he expected all installers would be well trained, and he had not anticipated any fatalities.

He said he was not asked about safety and he believed "many others" were raising the issue.

Mr Fricker has also suggested future fire risks as a result of home insulation needed to be addressed.

"There remains the little-known issue that all the houses that have had insulation improvements are also now greater fire risks as any fires within will spread more quickly because of the greater insulation of the building envelope," his statement says.

"It is my view that smoke alarms, sprinklers and ready exit during a fire (i.e. no deadlocking when home) need to be emphasised in a follow-up public education campaign."

The home insulation program was set up in 2009 by former prime minister Kevin Rudd and his then-environment minister Peter Garrett.

The scheme was intended to help ward off the effects of the global financial crisis by paying rebates to homeowners or installers of roof insulation.

During the roll-out of the $2.5 billion scheme, four men died and hundreds of house fires broke out, many of them in ceilings where foil insulation had been incorrectly installed.

The commission is investigating whether the deaths of four installers could have been avoided.

The first week of hearings focused on how the public service designed the program and what it did with warnings about insulation workers who had died in New Zealand.

The commission, which has entered its second week of hearings in Brisbane, is now looking at the role of ministers in Mr Rudd's government, including Mr Garrett and Mark Arbib.

More bureaucrats who worked for the Environment Department and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet are expected to appear at the inquiry.