Lifting the game in home care

There is a plug-and-play option for staying in the two-storey home you love.

A new generation of residential lifts is making it easier for Australians to move around their home.

Daniel Mawson co-founded Compact Home Lifts with business partner Damien Boyle and said people who want to install a lift in their house should not have to sacrifice style or space for mobility.

The Sydney-based company offers a range of sleek and innovative in-home lifts designed to be both safe and discreet.

Mr Mawson said the lifts can be installed almost anywhere and take up very little space in a home, making them appealing alternatives to chairlifts.

“Compact Home Lifts have the smallest footprint out there,” Mr Mawson said.

“They give the accessibility of someone’s house back to them, especially if they don’t want a chairlift that takes up a full staircase.”

The lifts come in two sizes; Classic, which can comfortably carry two people, and Plus, which accommodates a standard-size wheelchair or walking frame, which can be vital for people with disabilities.

Both models plug into a power point like any other household appliance.

The lifts come with a number of other conveniences, including a phone, protective gate, battery back-up, remote controls and safety switches.

Mr Mawson said customers can have a lift in their home in a little as two weeks depending on stock levels.

Most models take just one day to install.

The company sells the lifts to customers with disabilities as well as people who like to use a personal dumbwaiter for moving heavy items.

Mr Mawson said he also receives requests from older Australians preparing for future needs.

That was the case for Bruce McCarthy, an 82-year-old Campbelltown resident, who decided to purchase a Compact Home Lift when he and his wife moved into a two-storey house.

Mr McCarthy said he was unable to find any single-storey houses in his neighbourhood, and he and his wife wanted to make sure they would always be able to move through their home.

“We looked at the stairs and thought that we couldn’t predict what would happen to our health in the future,” Mr McCarthy said. “Turns out, it was the best thing we ever did.”

In the year since installing the home lift, Mr McCarthy has suffered two heart attacks, making it difficult for him to walk upstairs.

He says the lift has made it possible for him to stay in his home.

“I wouldn’t be living here if it hadn’t have been for the lift.”

Mr Mawson said lifts help Australians continue to stay living where they want.

“At the end of the day, to be able to say you have affected someone’s life for the better is an amazing feeling that most people won’t get from their line of work, and it’s one that all of us at Compact Home Lifts are very proud of.”