The industry names scissor lifts by platform height in feet — the height of the deck floor at full elevation, not how high you can work. 19 feet is 5.77 metres, and that’s where your boots are when the machine is fully up. It’s a naming convention inherited from the American manufacturers (JLG, Genie and friends), which is why an Australian machine measured in metres still carries a feet-based name.
Working height = platform height + roughly 2m of standing reach. That’s the number that matters, because you size a machine off the height of the thing you’re touching, not the platform. A 19ft scissor: 5.77m platform + 2m reach = 7.77m working height. Every reputable spec sheet lists both figures — just make sure you know which one you’re reading, because a 2m mix-up means the wrong machine on site.
19ft figures are exact for our fleet; other sizes are typical for the class — verify per machine.
| Size | Platform height | Working height |
|---|---|---|
| 12ft vertical | ~3.6m | ~5.6m |
| 13ft | ~4.0m | ~6.0m |
| 19ft | 5.77m | 7.77m |
| 26ft | ~7.9m | ~9.9m |
| 32ft | ~9.7m | ~11.7m |
| 40ft | ~11.9m | ~13.9m |
If the thing you’re touching is higher than about 7.8m, step up to a 26ft ($150/day) or beyond — the hire-by-height page matches your target height to a machine in one table, and the sizing guide walks through it.
It fits through a standard doorway (0.79m wide, 1.98m stowed), rides a passenger lift on many jobs, charges overnight off a normal 240V outlet, and covers the height band most trades actually work in. At $100/day ex-GST, the 19ft electric scissor is the default answer unless your job says otherwise.
To your hands, effectively — it’s platform height plus about 2m of comfortable standing reach for an average adult. If the work needs sustained overhead effort, size so the job sits at chest-to-eye level instead of at fingertip stretch.
No high-risk work licence is required for scissor lifts in Victoria. An EWPA Yellow Card is recommended and most commercial sites ask for it. Full detail in the licence guide.
No — the 0.86m extension deck on our 19ft machines adds horizontal reach over obstacles at deck level, not height. Platform height stays 5.77m.
Go one size up. “Just barely” on paper often means tippy-toes on site once floor levels, plenums or beams get in the way. A 26ft is only $50/day more.
Tell us what you’re reaching and we’ll size it for free — quotes in 60 minutes.
Call 1300 806 577