Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program: The four tradesmen who died

The royal commission into the Rudd government's troubled home insulation program that resulted in the deaths of four young men will begin hearing evidence in Brisbane today.

Former Labor prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard have been asked to provide documents to the Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program and face the prospect of being called to appear in person before Commissioner Ian Hangar QC.

It is believed other senior Labor figures including current Opposition frontbencher Penny Wong have been contacted by the commission.

Read more about the men whose deaths are linked to the scheme, which was set up in 2009 as an economic stimulus measure to help ward off the effects of the global financial crisis.

Matthew Fuller was the first of the four young people who died working under the home insulation program.

He was 25 when he was electrocuted in a roof cavity in outer Brisbane in October 2009. His girlfriend, who was working alongside him, was badly burnt.

The young couple had been saving to move in together.

Matthew's father Kevin Fuller said his son had been laying ceiling insulation for less than a fortnight when he accidentally put a metal staple through aluminium foil and into a live electrical cable lying underneath.

"Matthew was a worker and knew that he could go and earn enough money to set up his future life," he said.

"On the day Matthew got killed, in the car was the application for Monique and Matt to move into a new rental place."

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Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program: The four tradesmen who died