A comprehensive awareness campaign has been launched in Queensland to educate homeowners and tradespeople about the dangers of working in ceilings.

This campaign follows a Coronial inquest into the deaths of three Queenslanders during the rollout of the former Federal Government’s home insulation scheme.

Attorney General and Minister for Justice Jarrod Bleijie launched the campaign with Kevin Fuller, whose son Matthew died while installing insulation, and said the move delivered on a key Coronial recommendation.

Mr Bleijie commented that the dangers of working in roof spaces need to be well known and clearly understood. Pointing out that the three young men, Matthew Fuller, Rueben Barnes and Mitchell Sweeney were taken from their loved ones by something so preventable, he said that the Queensland Government was committed to making Queensland worksites the safest in the country and the legacy of these men will be better safety and awareness about ceiling work.

Making good on the promise to Queenslanders at the election that they would restore accountability in government, a Coronial inquest was ordered into these tragedies in one of the first acts of the new Government following the 2012 election.

In addition to damning findings about the insulation scheme’s rushed rollout, the Coroner recommended that the Government ‘undertake a public awareness campaign’ that would educate homeowners and tradies about the risks of working in roof spaces.

As part of the awareness campaign, TV, radio, newspaper and billboard ads will hit the airwaves and printers from this weekend, carrying a simple message: Stay safer up there, switch off down there. Free stickers, which will be longstanding reminders about the switch off message, will also soon be rolled out in newspapers and to electrical contractors and hardware stores. The stickers are designed for ceiling manholes and switchboards, to make DIY homeowners or tradies stop and think before climbing into a live roof space.

Given the serious electrical safety risks in ceilings, the best and simplest way people can make them safer is to turn off the main power at the switchboard before climbing into the roof space.

A series of barbeques at local Mitre 10 stores will also help spread the safe ceiling work message.