ABC apologises to Kevin Rudd over 'cabinet files' details

The ABC has unreservedly apologised to Kevin Rudd over a report about the bungled home insulation scheme.

The former prime minister launched legal action against the ABC after it published details of a secret cabinet document related to his Labor government's program.

Mr Rudd maintained the document referred to by the public broadcaster was about financial and administrative risks to the program for the Commonwealth, not safety risks, and rejected any suggestion he ignored safety warnings as a "lie".

"The ABC accepts that, as found by the royal commission, Mr Rudd was not warned of, and was not aware of critical safety risks at the time," the national broadcaster said.

The ABC acknowledged the royal commission made no adverse findings against Mr Rudd and there were no suggestions that Mr Rudd lied to the commission.

"The ABC unreservedly apologises to Mr Rudd for any harm or embarrassment caused," the broadcaster said.

The cabinet document was part of a trove of papers, some classified "top secret", found in a filing cabinet sold cheaply at a second-hand shop in Canberra stocking ex-government furniture.