Platform lift or home lift: what's the difference?
A platform lift lifts a person or a wheelchair a short way, like a few steps, a split level or a porch, and is built to AS 1735.14 or 15. A home lift is a cabin that goes floor to floor automatically, built to AS/NZS 1735.18 for private homes.
So buy for the rise you have. If you need to get from the ground floor to the bedrooms, you need a home lift, also sold as a house lift, residential lift or home elevator. If you need to get up four steps to the front door, a platform lift does the job for less.
By Liam, founder of Rise Lifts, who has installed 142+ home lifts around Melbourne for other brands. Updated 1 November 2026. Victoria.
How does a platform lift compare with a home lift?
The same lines for both, so you can see where each one stops.
| Platform lift | Home lift | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A platform, open or enclosed, that lifts a person or a wheelchair a short way | A cabin that goes floor to floor, in a builder's shaft or its own glass tower |
| Australian standard | AS 1735.14 or AS 1735.15 | AS/NZS 1735.18, passenger lifts for private residences |
| How far it goes | Automatic to about 1 m of rise (AS 1735.14). Press-and-hold to 2 m open or 4 m enclosed (AS 1735.15) | 2 to 5 or 6 levels, depending on the lift |
| How you ride it | Automatic on a low-rise platform; on the taller ones you hold the button the whole way | Press once and it goes, with landing doors at every floor |
| Suits | A few steps, a split level, a porch | Any home with the footprint; wheelchairs; two to five levels; a long stay |
| Typical cost | About $20,000 to $50,000 by rise and type (our trade estimate; none published) | About $25,000 to $120,000 installed, by levels, cabin and site (published prices, October 2026) |
| Usually the wrong answer for | Floor to floor in a two-storey house | Nobody needs it for ten years, or there's no spot without losing a room |
The travel limits come from the National Construction Code: 1,000 mm for low-rise platform lifts, and 2 m open or 4 m enclosed for press-and-hold lifts. The home lift standard, AS/NZS 1735.18, dates from 2002 and is under review.
Which one do you need?
Start with the rise, then who's riding it.
- Four steps up to the front door, or a porch
- A platform lift. It's built for a short rise, and a home lift would be overkill.
- A split level inside the house
- A platform lift, as long as the rise sits inside its limits. Check the travel on the drawing.
- The ground floor to the bedrooms upstairs
- A home lift. It's built to go floor to floor, automatically, with doors at each level.
- Three or more levels
- A home lift. Platform lifts stop at 4 m of travel, enclosed.
- A wheelchair, between floors
- A home lift with a cabin big enough: about 1.1 x 1.4 m inside for a wheelchair.
Weighing a stairlift, a shaftless lift or moving as well? Our page on home lift, stairlift or moving puts all six options side by side.
Is a lifting platform the same as a platform lift?
Yes. Lifting platform, platform elevator and platform lift all mean the same kind of lift. A vertical platform lift goes straight up and down, and a stair platform lift carries a wheelchair along a rail up the stairs.
On the home lift side, home lift, house lift, residential lift and home elevator all mean a cabin lift for a house. The names overlap in ads and quotes, so ask one question: which standard is the design verified to? AS 1735.14 or 15 means a platform lift. AS/NZS 1735.18 means a home lift.
Is there funding for a platform lift in Victoria?
Every funding route starts with an occupational therapist (OT), and we found no Victorian scheme that funds a platform lift or a home lift.
- DVA (veterans)
- The Rehabilitation Appliances Program lists stair lifts and vertical platform lifts, and can provide vertical lifts for accepted conditions after an assessment and prior approval.
- NDIS
- Home modifications over $25,000 are complex, and installing a lift is a named example. They need an OT's assessment and funding only where reasonable and necessary under your plan.
- Support at Home
- Home modifications up to a $15,000 lifetime cap. Ramps and stair lifts are named examples; platform lifts and home lifts aren't named, so ask your OT.
GST and the rest of the funding detail are on the cost page.
Is the RISE 300 a platform lift?
No. The RISE 300 is a home lift: a passenger lift for a private residence, with its design verified to AS/NZS 1735.18:2002. It serves 2 to 5 levels, takes 400 kg or 5 people, and needs a pit of 150 mm, or 50 mm with a ramp into the cabin.
Every journey starts and stops softly, and if the power goes out, the battery lowers the cabin to the lowest landing so you can step out. Rise Lifts supplies, installs and services the RISE 300 home lift in Victoria, and if a platform lift suits your house better, we'll tell you. Our price is on the RISE 300 Series page.
Free 24-page Straight-Up Guide
Will it fit? What will it cost? Who can you trust?
Everyone asks me these three things about home lifts. This guide has my answers, and worksheets to work them out for your own house. Use it on any lift company, including us.
- Where a lift fits, and the eight numbers that decide it
- The all-in cost worksheet, and ten years of owning one
- 15 questions to ask any lift company, including us
- Who can help pay, and when a lift isn't the answer
It's yours.
Print it, grab a tape measure and work through it at the kitchen table. We've emailed you the link too.
Download the Straight-Up GuidePDF, 24 pages, 4 MB. Ready to talk? Book my free assessment
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Platform lift questions
What is the difference between a platform lift and a home lift?
A platform lift lifts a person or a wheelchair a short way, like a few steps, a split level or a porch, and is built to AS 1735.14 or 15. A home lift is a cabin that goes floor to floor automatically, built to AS/NZS 1735.18 for private residences. Platform lifts run about $20,000 to $50,000 (our trade estimate); home lifts about $25,000 to $120,000 installed.
Is a lifting platform the same as a platform lift?
Yes. Lifting platform, platform elevator and platform lift are names for the same kind of lift. A vertical platform lift goes straight up and down, and a stair platform lift carries a wheelchair along a rail up the stairs. Ask which standard the design is verified to, and the answer tells you what you're buying.
Can a platform lift go between two floors?
Only within its limits. An automatic low-rise platform goes to about 1 m. A press-and-hold platform lift can go to 2 m open or 4 m enclosed, and you hold the button the whole way. For floor to floor in a two-storey house, a home lift is usually the right answer.
Is a platform lift cheaper than a home lift?
Usually, because it does less. Platform lifts cost about $20,000 to $50,000 by rise and type (our trade estimate, since no supplier publishes a price). Home lifts cost about $25,000 to $120,000 installed in published Australian prices, before the builder's and electrician's work.
Can a platform lift carry a wheelchair?
Yes, a platform lift carries a wheelchair up a short rise. Between floors you need a home lift with a cabin about 1.1 x 1.4 m inside, and hydraulic home lifts typically take a wheelchair with a carer.
Is the RISE 300 a platform lift?
No. The RISE 300 is a home lift: a passenger lift for a private residence, with its design verified to AS/NZS 1735.18:2002. It serves 2 to 5 levels and takes 400 kg, or 5 people.
Is there funding for a platform lift in Victoria?
Every route starts with an occupational therapist. DVA's Rehabilitation Appliances Program lists vertical platform lifts and stair lifts. The NDIS treats a lift as a complex home modification. Support at Home names ramps and stair lifts but not platform lifts, so ask your OT. We found no Victorian scheme that funds one.
More straight answers
- The Straight-Up Guide Every answer in one place, the readiness scorecard and the glossary.
- How much does a home lift cost in Melbourne? Every line of the job, the ten-year cost, GST and funding.
- How do you choose the best home lift company? The 15 questions to ask, the red flags, and five lift types compared.
- How is a home lift installed? Every step, who does it, how long it usually takes, and the sign-offs.
- How much space does a home lift need? Shaft sizes, the smallest lifts, pit, headroom and the eight measurements.
- What does a home lift quote leave out? The missing lines, what each costs, and the checklist for every quote.
- What does a home lift cost to run each year? Servicing, call-outs, parts that wear, and ten years of running costs.
- Is there funding for a home lift in Victoria? Support at Home, DVA, the NDIS and SWEP: what each covers and how to start.
- Do you need a permit for a home lift in Victoria? The building permit, planning permit, certificates and contracts.
- Can you put a lift in an existing house? Where it goes, what to check, and the eight measurements.
- Home lift, stairlift or moving? Six options side by side, and when a lift is the wrong answer.
- The RISE 300 Series Our lift, our price, and what's in it.
General information for Victorian homeowners. It isn't a quote, or engineering, legal or financial advice. Platform lift prices are our trade estimate, since no supplier publishes one. Every lift has to be measured for its own site.