Ultimate Guide To Handrail Balustrade Compliance AU

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The Ultimate Guide to

Handrail & Balustrade Compliance

The Ultimate Guide


to Handrail &
Balustrade
Compliance
Contents
Overview 03
A Summary of the Handrail Requirements under AS 1428 04
A Summary of the Handrail Requirements under AS 1657 05
A Summary of the Handrail Requirements under the Austroads
Guide to Road Design Part 6A
6-7

A Summary of the Handrail Requirements under the NCC 2016 08


BCA Section D2.16
DESIGN TIPS - Disability Ramps 09
Handrail Terminations on Ramps under AS 1428 10
Top Mount Inline Handrails 11
Circulation Space for Wheelchair Turns - 30° to 90° 12
Location of Ramps to Prevent Protrusion of Handrails at Property 13
Boundaries
Ramps that Return or Double-Back 14
Kerbrail Ramp Requirements under AS 1428 15
DESIGN TIPS - Stairs 16
Stairway Location and Handrail Extensions at Internal Corridors 17
Top and Wall Mounted Handrails Substrate Requirements on Stairs 18
Compliant Handrail Positioning on Intermediate Landings 19
DESIGN TIPS - Other Scenerios 20
Handrail Compliance in a Class 9B Building used as a Primary School 21
Handrail Requirements on Step-Type Ladders under AS 1657 22
Overview
Handrail Design in Australia – Which standard do I use?
BUILDINGS:

Reference Documents
The National Construction Code contains performance requirements for the construction of buildings. This code
provides the minimum necessary requirements for safety, health, amenity and sustainability in the design and
construction of new buildings and any new building work in existing buildings throughout Australia. The volumes
that must be used for the design of building handrails are:
• Volume 1 – Building Code of Australia (BCA) – Covers Class 2 to 9 buildings which are commercial, industrial,
and multi-residential buildings.
• Volume 2 – Building Code of Australia – Covers Class 1 and Class 10 buildings which are residential and
non-habitable buildings.

These volumes cover:

The geometric requirements of handrails (For example, handrail height must be a minimum of 865mm, so that
they are comfortable to use for most people and provide sufficient stability, support, and assistance). They also
refer to two Australian Standards for the design loads that the handrails and its fixings must withstand:

• AS 1657 – This standard covers the design requirements of mezzanines, stairways, walkways, and service
platforms to provide safe access to places generally used by operating, inspection, maintenance, and service
personnel. This standard does not apply to areas that are accessible to the general public such as apartment
balconies, rooftop gardens or similar or to situations where special provision is made in appropriate building
or other regulations e.g. way of escape from fire.
• AS 1428 – This standard sets out the minimum design requirements for access and mobility on new building
work to enable access for people with disabilities. It covers aspects of access to and within a building. It does
not cover Class 1a or 1b buildings (private dwellings) and non-common areas in Class 2 buildings (e.g. block of
units). However, it may be used as a legal reference.

ROADS - WALKING & CYCLING PATHS

Reference Documents
The Austroad Guide to Road Design Part 6A is the reference document that must be used for designing handrails
on pedestrian and cycling path projects to keep cyclists and pedestrians safe on a cycleway. It provides guidance
on the geometric design of handrails on paths for safe and efficient walking and cycling within and outside the
road corridor.
The design of paths may also be influenced by design considerations and requirements covered in other parts of
the Guide to Road Design that need to be considered within roadsides. In particular, designers should also refer
to:
• Guide to Road Design Part 6: Roadside Design, Safety and Barriers.
• Guide to Road Design Part 6B: Roadside Environment.
Please note that Guide to Traffic Management in relation to traffic management devices and requirements may
also need to be considered as this may also influence the design.

Disclaimer Note: Moddex has prepared this compliance guide as general information guide only. This guide should not be used as a substitute for seeking

professional engineering and/ or architectural advice for your specific circumstances.

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A Summary of the Handrail Requirements under AS 1428

The AS 1428 standard defines the minimum design Further Design requirements:
requirements for mobility access on new building work Under AS 1428.1-2009 Clause 12, handrails shall be
to enable safe access for people with disabilities, with designed to comply with the following:
particular attention on: • The cross-section of the handrail must be
• Continuous accessible paths of travel and circular or elliptical, with a height & width of not
circulation spaces for people who use less than 30mm or greater than 50mm for 270°
wheelchairs; around the uppermost surface. The horizontal
• Access and facilities for people with ambulatory axis on elliptical handrail must be the axis with
disabilities; the greater dimension.
• Access for people with sensory disabilities. • A clear space between a handrail & an adjacent
wall or other obstruction must not be less than
When is a handrail required?
50mm. A clear space of 600mm is also required
Handrail is required to both sides of a stair/ramp,
above the top of the handrail.
with a minimum of 1000mm clearance between both
• Handrails are to have no obstruction to the
handrails.
passage of a hand along the rail.
What are the height regulations for a
handrail? Please note that there are more requirements stated
• The top of the handrail must be not less than under Clause 12 and that the above list is only a
865mm or greater than 1000mm from the nosing small selection of them. For full AS 1428
of a stair or the plane of the finished floor level on requirements you can visit
a ramp, walkway or landing. https://www.standards.org.au/
• Handrail height shall be consistent throughout the
ramp, stair and landing.
The below comparison shows the requirements
• The dimensions indicating the heights of handrails
detailed in AS 1428.1-2009 Clause 12 and whether
shall be taken vertically from the nosing of the
it’s compliant:
tread to the top of the handrail.
• If a balustrade is required at a height greater than
the handrail, both shall be provided.

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A Summary of the Handrail Requirements under AS 1657

When is a handrail required? When is a toeboard or kickplate required?


Australian Standard AS 1657 states that handrailing is Where an object could fall from a platform or landing
required on exposed sides of platforms, walkways and onto an area where persons have access to the area
landings when the height exceeds 300mm. below and to the side of the walkway, a toeboard
needs to be installed.
When it comes to constructing handrail, there are a
A toeboard shall be installed on the edge of a walkway
surprising number of regulations that apply.
where there is no permanent structure within 10 mm
Some of the most vital regulations concern how high
of the edge. Any gap between the underside of the
the handrail should be designed, the height of the
toeboard and the walkway surface shall not exceed 10
platform or base the handrail is being installed on,
mm. The top of the toeboard shall be not less than 100
and whether a handrail or barrier is required. These
mm above the floor.
requirements have been developed specifically to
Design Requirements:
prevent height-related injuries, especially for
Where guardrailing/handrails is of post and rail
platforms or mezzanines located high above ground
construction, the following requirements apply:
where a fall could cause serious injury or death.
• They shall consist of a top rail— supported
by posts at intervals as necessary to meet the
What are the height regulations for a specified imposed actions; parallel to the floor or,
handrail? where used on a sloping walkway, parallel to the
The height of a handrail, measured vertically above the slope of the walkway.
floor, walkway surface or the nosing of a stair tread, • One or more intermediate rails shall be provided
shall not be less that 900mm or greater than 1100mm, parallel with the top rail and spaced such that the
as shown in figure 6.1. maximum clear space between the rails or
The height of the top of the handrail shall be between the lowest rail and toeboard, where fit-
consistent through the ramp (or stairs) and any ted, shall not exceed 450 mm.
landings. • Where no toeboard is installed, the clear space
between the lowest rail and the floor shall not
exceed 560 mm.

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A Summary of the Handrail
Requirements under the
Austroads Guide to Road
Design Part 6A.

Fences may also be required where a sharp turn or


Below is an extract from the Austroads Guide to Road curve in a pathway occurs after a downhill grade, to
Design so you can see at a glance what is required to prevent cyclists from potentially misjudging the speed
keep cyclists and pedestrians safer on a cycleway. required to take the turn or curve which could lead to

The installation of a barrier at the side of a path used them coming off the pathway. Treatments in these

by cyclists is desirable where: situations should be guided by a risk assessment of


the area to best reduce any potential risks.
• There is a steep batter or large vertical drop
located in close proximity to the path.
Figure 5.10 below provides a specific recommendation
• The path is adjacent to an arterial road and it is
for the provision of a fence on a path in close proximity
necessary to restrict cyclist access to the road.
to a steep batter or vertical drop. This also details the
• A bridge or culvert exists on a path.
circumstances in which either a partial barrier fence
• A hazard exists adjacent to a particular bicycle
(Figure 5.11 - Page 7) or full barrier fence (Figure 5.12
facility.
- Page 7) or equivalent form of protection should be
• Cyclists are likely to be ‘blazing a separate trail’ at
used.
an intersection between paths or around a path
terminal.

Moddex barrier system used for shared pathways,


complying with the recommendations in the Austroads
Guide to Road Design.

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The minimum height of a fence should be 1.2m and
should only be used where the severity of the
hazard is considered to be low. A higher fence (≥
1.4m) should be considered where the fence is
protecting path users from a very severe hazard (high
falls, water hazards etc.) or at a location where there
is a risk of the cyclist being vaulted off their bicycle if
they collide with the fence, like the sharp turn after a
downhill fall mentioned above.

Where barrier fencing with vertical components or


balusters is provided directly adjacent to a path,
consideration should be given to including a cyclist
deflection rail (Figure 5.12). Cyclist deflection rails are
designed to enable a cyclist to deflect off the smooth
horizontal rail, striking the rail between the cyclists
shoulder and elbow (between 1.2m and 1.4m from
path surface) so that their handlebars (typically 1.0m
from surface level) do not get caught in the vertical
components of the fence.

The termination of the fence also needs to be


considered to avoid it being a hazard to cyclists. An
example of a termination which has been flared away
from the line of the rail to reduce the likelihood of a
cyclist colliding into the end of the rail is shown in
Figure 5.13.

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A Summary of the Handrail Requirements under
NCC 2016 BCA Section D2.16.

Under the NCC 2016 BCA Section D2.16, a continuous Please note, the heights are measured vertically from
barrier must be provided along the side of: the surface beneath, except for stairways where the
• A roof in which general access is provided; and height must be measured vertically from the nosing
• A stairway, ramp, floor, corridor, hallwa, line of the stair. A transition zone can also be
balcony, deck, verandah, mezzanine, access incorporated where the barrier changes height from
bridge or similar; and 865 mm on a stair flight or ramp to 1 m at a landing
• Any delineated path of access to a building or floor.2 The maximum 125 mm barrier opening for a
stairway is measured above the nosing line of the stair
If the trafficable surface is 1 m or more above the
treads.
surface beneath, in the areas listed above.
Please note that the list to the left & table below is
A barrier required under the above must be
constructed in accordance with the table below. only a small snippet of the compliances detailed
under NCC 2016 BCA Section D2.16 for barriers. The
standard must be read in full to understand all of the
compliances required to create a complaint barrier
system.

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Design Tips:
Disability
Ramps
Handrail Terminations on Ramps under AS1428

Under AS 1428.1-2009 Clause 10.3, ramps shall have Figure 24 below shows our Assistrail AR20 with
a handrail complying with Clause 12 installed on each Flexalyte on a 4° ramp, with the handrail turned
side of the ramp, as shown in Figure 14. through 180° closure bend at the top & bottom of the
At the terminations of the handrail, the handrail must ramp.
extend a minimum of 300 mm horizontally past the
FIGURE 24
transition point at the top and bottom of the ramp
except where the inner handrail is continuous at an
intermediate landing.
There are six examples of how the handrail should
terminate at the top or bottom of a ramp, according to
the Australian Standards. These are shown in Figure
15(A) below.

FIGURE 15 (A)

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Top Mount Inline Handrails

Top mounted inline Handrails such as the Moddex


AR20 and AR40 used on disability ramps, require a
substrate width of 1195+mm to meet the minimum
1000mm clear between requirements of AS 1428.
Space permitting, a substrate design width of
1245mm+ to achieve compliance & allow for
stanchions to be placed 75mm in from edge of
concrete is ideal.

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Circulation Space for Wheelchair
Turns – 30° to 90°

Under the Australian Standards of AS 1428.1-2009, Under Clause 6.5.1, the circulation space required
wheelchairs require a minimum circulation space for a wheelchair to make a 60° to 90° turn shall not
whenever attempting a 30° to 90° turn. be less than 1500mm wide and 1500mm long in the
These degrees of turn are split into two parts within direction of travel. A space splayed across the internal
the standards: 60° to 90° & 30° to <60°. corner can be allowed for. The following images below
show different angles of change in direction, ranging
from 60° to 90°.

Under Clause 6.5.2, where the angle of turn is 30° but The multiple handrail & balustrade systems that
less than 60° and the width of the path of travel is less Moddex supply do have varying protrusion lengths
than 1200mm, a splay of 500mm x 500mm is required between each system, which can affect how wide a
on the internal corner of the pathway. The image pathway needs to be constructed to.
below shows a path less than 1200mm wide with a
change of direction of 35°.

These circulation spaces must allow for any items that


may protrude into the pathways, including handrail &
balustrade systems.

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Location of Ramps to Prevent Protrusion of
Handrails at Property Boundaries

In accordance with AS1428.1-2009 Clause 10.3 (f), ramps


that intersect at a property boundary need to be set back
by a minimum of 900mm so that the handrail (compliant to
Clause 12) and TGSI’s do not protrude into the transverse
path of travel.
As shown in the plan & section view below, the Moddex
Assistrail AR20 has been designed in to show that it fits
within the 900mm minimum

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A kerbrail system is
required on ramps and their
Kerbrail Ramp Requirements
intermediate landings; under AS 1428
• Whenever the ramp is
deemed public access
• or otherwise required. There are many guidelines that need to be followed for a
compliant kerbrail system. The most important guidelines for
compliant kerbrails in AS 1428 applications are listed below;
• Kerbrails are required on both sides of a ramp,
however if one side or both are solid walls, then no
kerbrail is required on these walls.
• The height of the top of the kerbrail shall not be within
the range of 75mm to 150mm above the finished floor.
• The maximum gap allowed between the very bottom of
the kerbrail and the finished floor is 75mm.
• The ramp-side face of the kerbrail is to be flush with
the ramp-side face of the handrail OR no greater than
100mm behind the ramp-side face of the handrail. A
kerbrail that protrudes past the ramp-side face of the
handrail is deemed non-compliant to AS 1428.

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Ramps that Return or
Double-Back

For ramps that return or double-back, the handrails


on the landings require a minimum 1540mm clear
between them. Top mounted Inline Handrails such as
the Moddex AR20 and AR40 used in this application
will require a substrate width of 1665+mm to achieve
the minimum 1540mm clear between, a requirement
of AS 1428.

Space permitting, a landing substrate design width of


1690mm+ to achieve compliance & allow for
stanchions to be placed 75mm in from edge of
concrete is ideal.

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Design Tips:
Stairs
Stairway Location and Handrail Extensions at an
Internal Corridor

In accordance with AS 1428.1-2009 Clause 11.1 (b), As shown in the plan & section view below, Moddex
stairs that intersect at an internal corridor shall be set recommends the minimum set back must allow for at
back in accordance with Figure 26(B), as shown below. least one tread length + 435 mm for our standard 180°
closure bend.

FIGURE 22

From what is shown in Figure 26(B), it is


interpreted that the partition wall must allow for
a compliant handrail extension at the bottom of a
stair, without the handrail protruding past the wall.

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Top and Wall Mounted Handrails Substrate
Requirements on Stairs

Top mounted Handrails such as AR10, AR45 or CB30 Wall mounted Handrails such as AR150, used on
used on stairs, require a substrate width of 1150+mm stairs, require a substrate width of 1210+mm to meet
to meet the minimum 1000mm clear between rails the minimum 1000mm clear between rails
requirement of AS 1428 & NCC/BCA. Space permit- requirement of AS 1428 & NCC/BCA.
ting, a substrate design width of 1200mm+ to achieve
compliance & allow for stanchions to be placed 75mm
in from edge of concrete is ideal

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Compliant Handrail Positioning on Intermediate
Landings

In accordance with AS 1428.1 12 (a), handrails and The start position of the second flight will affect this
balustrades shall not encroach into required distance with configurations such as Moddex type
circulation spaces i.e. a clear, unobstructed area, AR45, CB30 and CB50. Below are the 3 different
enabling persons using mobility aids to manoeuvre. scenarios using type CB30 balustrade that will affect
the distance between the handrail and the wall.
This point can be adversely affected by the location of
As angle and landing lengths can change, the scenario
the start position of the second flight which also
that will achieve the most width is example C.
determines the positioning of the handrail or
balustrade.

Australian Standard AS 1428.1 requires a minimum


clearance of 1000mm on a landing ‘circulation space’
whether it be between the handrail and the opposite
wall or hand rail to hand rail.

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Design Tips:
Other
Scenarios
Handrail Compliance in a Class 9B Building
used as a Primary School

As per figure 1 handrails complying to BCA clause D2.17,


a, iii, like our AR110 and AR140 configurations, must be
installed on a substrate that allows a minimum 1000mm
between handrails as stated in AS1428.1-2009 clause 6.3
and BCA clause D1.6, B, i.

As per figure 2 the minimum substrate width to


achieve 1000mm between handrails using our AR110
configuration must be no less than 1401mm.

As per figure 3 the minimum substrate width to


achieve 1000mm between handrails using our AR110
and AR140 configurations must be no less than
2653mm.

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Handrail Requirements on
Step-Type Ladders under
AS 1657
Under AS 1657:2018
Clause 7.3.4, a
step-type ladder must • The clearspace between the handrails must not be less

have handrails than 550 mm or greater than 750 mm.

complying with • The clear distance between the handrail & the plane of

AS 1657:2018 Clause the nosing of the treads, which is measured

5.6 provided on both perpendicular to the slope of the step-type ladder, must

sides of the ladder and not be less than 150 mm or greater than 200 mm.

must also comply with • The bottom of the handrails shall commence at a point

the following not more than 900 mm above the landing.

requirements. Where the handrails of a step-type ladder join into


handrails on a walkway or platform above, there are
additional requirements that must be met:
FIGURE 5.3 • The section view below shows a custom height
Assistrail AR10 system mounted onto a 65° ladder
joining into Tuffrail TR25 on a platform above.The
handrails of the step-type ladder & platform/walkway
should be blended to form a smooth transition to allow
continuous contact with the handrail while moving from
the ladder to the platform/walkway and vice versa.
• Alternatively, handrails should be located to –
• Permit an uninterrupted hand passage along the
handrail surface until the user has reached the
walkway or platform.
• Ensure a clearance of not less than 50 mm
between the handrail surface & any adjacent
structure that could make contact with the user’s
hand.
• Ensure that any gap measured between the ends
or components of the handrails does not exceed
100 mm measured horizontally.
• Follow the slope of the ladder; and
• Avoid the need for direction changes that might

The section view to the left shows a custom height


Assistrail AR10 system mounted onto a 65° ladder
joining into Tuffrail TR25 on a platform above.

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