AS1428 Disability Type Handrail Requirements

A summary of AS1428 Disability type handrail requirements 

Under AS1428.1-2021 Clause 12, handrails must be designed to comply with the following general criteria:

• The cross-section of the handrail must be circular or elliptical, with a height & width of not less than 30mm or greater than 50mm for 270° around the uppermost surface. The horizontal axis on elliptical handrail must be the axis with the greater dimension
• The top of the handrail must be not less than 865mm or greater than 1000mm from the nosing of a stair or the plane of the finished floor level on a ramp, walkway or landing.
• The height of the top of the handrail must be consistent throughout the ramp, stair & landings.
• A clearspace between a handrail & an adjacent wall or other obstruction must not be less than 50mm. A clearspace of 600mm is also required above the top of the handrail.
• Handrails are to have no obstruction to the passage of a hand along the rail.

Please note that there are a lot more requirements stated under Clause 12 and that the above list is only a small selection of them. See drawings from AS1428 that show the range of requirements for Disability type handrails for ramps, landings, walkways and stairs.