Not every trade needs the same access equipment. An electrician working near live conductors needs an insulated cherry picker; an arborist clearing a tree needs reach and manoeuvrability; a painter on a commercial fitout needs a stable, wide platform at a fixed height. This guide maps the most common Australian trades to the EWPs, MEWPs, cherry pickers, boom lifts, scissor lifts and cranes that suit them — and explains why the match matters.
Electrical contractors
Electrical contractors working near or on live conductors — overhead distribution lines, HV infrastructure, substation equipment — require an insulated EWP with a kV rating matched to the system voltage being worked near. Truck-mounted insulated cherry pickers from Terex, Altec and Elliott (fitted with fibreglass insulated boom sections) are the standard tool for overhead line work across Australia.
For indoor electrical work on commercial construction projects, electric scissor lifts and compact boom lifts handle most applications. For street lighting, aerial bundled cable and service connections, the truck-mounted cherry picker is the workhorse of the Australian electrical contracting industry.
Arborists and tree services
Arborists need reach, manoeuvrability and the ability to work around tree canopies — making articulating boom lifts and truck-mounted cherry pickers the primary access tools. The ability to position the basket over or around the canopy without the operator needing to climb is the key advantage.
Truck-mounted EWPs (Nifty Lift, Terex, Altec) with articulating booms and high reach are common in Australian arborist fleets. For tighter urban sites — narrow suburban streets, parks with limited access — trailer-mounted EWPs and compact spider lifts can access sites where a full truck-mounted unit cannot park.
Telecommunications
Telecommunications installation and maintenance — including mobile tower work, aerial fibre, NBN infrastructure and underground network access — uses a mix of truck-mounted cherry pickers for height and self-propelled boom lifts for construction site access. Elliott and Versalift truck-mounted EWPs have a long history in the Australian telecoms sector, particularly with NBN Co, Telstra and network contractors.
For indoor telecommunications work in data centres, commercial buildings and exchanges, scissor lifts and compact boom lifts handle most access requirements.
Construction: commercial and civil
Commercial construction is the largest single market for access equipment in Australia. Scissor lifts (Genie GS series, JLG ES series, Skyjack SJIII) dominate internal fitout; articulating and telescopic boom lifts (Genie Z and S series, JLG 400AJ through 800S) handle structural and facade work. Rough terrain boom lifts and rough terrain scissor lifts handle external work on construction ground where indoor machines would be impractical.
Civil and infrastructure construction typically uses larger machines — JLG 600S and 800AJ, Genie Z-80 and S-100 — for access to bridges, infrastructure assets, and tall structures. Crane access complements MEWP access where heavy materials also need to be lifted.
Painting and surface treatment
Painters working on building facades, industrial structures and infrastructure typically use boom lifts (articulating for navigating around architectural features, telescopic for long facade runs) or scissor lifts for uniform-height interior surfaces. The wide platform of a scissor lift makes it efficient for interior commercial painting where two painters work together.
For exterior façade painting, articulating boom lifts allow positioning at varied heights and angles without repositioning the machine as frequently as a scissor lift or vertical mast would require.
Sign installation and maintenance
Sign installers work at a wide variety of heights — from shopfront signage at 4m to billboard structures at 15m or more. Trailer-mounted EWPs, compact truck-mounted cherry pickers and self-propelled boom lifts all appear in sign installation fleets, depending on the size and location of the job. The requirement for a wide, stable platform to handle large sign panels pushes many sign companies toward boom lifts with extended deck options.
Roofing and building maintenance
Roofers and building maintenance contractors use EWPs to access building edges, gutters, skylights and plant room equipment without scaffolding. Articulating boom lifts can position a basket at the roof edge from street level; truck-mounted cherry pickers suit work along extended roof perimeters without repositioning. For rooftop plant maintenance, scissor lifts are often used where rooftop structural loading permits.
Events and entertainment
Events rigging, lighting installation and stage construction use compact scissor lifts and narrow boom lifts for indoor venues, and larger self-propelled boom lifts for outdoor festival infrastructure. The non-marking tyres standard on many indoor scissor lifts are particularly important for venues with premium floor surfaces.
This guide is general information prepared by EWP Australia and is grounded in publicly available Australian Standards and Safe Work Australia material. It is not a substitute for the current published edition of the relevant standard or for site-specific engineering advice. Always work from the current standard and consult a competent person for your specific equipment and application.