Scissor lifts are named by platform height in feet — where your boots are at full elevation. But you don’t work with your boots; you work with your hands, which reach about 2m above the deck. So a “19ft” machine (5.77m platform) gives you a 7.77m working height. The mistake that gets machines sent back is sizing off the platform figure: a 19ft scissor does not get your hands to a ceiling at 9m. The platform vs working height guide covers the naming in full.
Find the height of your work surface in the left column:
| You’re touching at… | Machine | Working height | Daily rate (ex-GST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to ~6m | 13ft scissor | ~6m | $100 |
| Up to 7.8m | 19ft scissor | 7.77m | $100 |
| Up to ~10m | 26ft scissor | ~9.9m | $150 |
| Up to ~11.7m | 32ft scissor | ~11.7m | $165 |
| Up to ~13.9m | 40ft scissor | ~13.9m | $200 |
| Higher | RT scissor (to 18.1m) or boom | varies | $200–$500 |
Non-19ft working heights are approximate — verify per machine. The hire-by-height page is the fastest way to go from a measured height to a bookable machine, including the rough-terrain and boom options above 14m.
Whenever the table says “just enough”. Real sites eat margin: floor levels vary, services hang below the slab, and working at full stretch all day is slow and rough on shoulders. If your target is 7.6m and the 19ft gives 7.77m, that’s fingertip work — the 26ft at $50/day more puts the job at chest height. Sizing up one step is the cheapest productivity gain in access hire.
Measure the height of the work surface (laser measure or plans). Add nothing — the working height figures already include your reach. Pick the machine whose working height covers it with a little margin, check the access route and floor, then price it on the rates page or the cost guide.
The 19ft electric — 7.77m working height covers most double-height ceilings and standard warehouse jobs, it fits through a single doorway, and it’s $100/day. We stock 27 of them for a reason.
Not meaningfully — controls are the same family across sizes and no licence is needed for any scissor in Victoria. The real differences are weight, width and ground requirements, not difficulty.
Take the bigger one. Working at the very top of a machine’s envelope means fingertip stretch and slow work; one size up usually costs $15–$50/day more and pays for itself in pace.
Rough-terrain scissors run to 18.1m working height (53ft RT, $350/day), and booms go to ~26m. Start from hire by height or call and describe the job.
Tell us the height you’re touching — we’ll size it and price it inside 60 minutes.
Call 1300 806 577