Grab rail installation for bathrooms, showers and toilets

Where grab rails go in a bathroom

NSW Health’s home safety checklist recommends grab rails “to enable you to get in and out of the shower or bath” and a rail “next to the toilet or use a toilet safety frame to aid in getting on and off the toilet”. It warns: “do not use the towel rail as this is not strong enough”.

The checklist gives no heights. The best position depends on the person’s height, reach and how they move. Nero, a rail maker, recommends that the location is “determined by a qualified occupational therapist or trained professional”. NSW Health says occupational therapists from an Aged Care Assessment team or a local hospital can advise on hand rails. Mark the position on the wall with them before any holes are drilled.

Which walls hold a grab rail

Grab rails take a person’s full weight, often suddenly. Metlam, a rail maker, puts it plainly: “Grab rails are no stronger than the anchors and walls to which they are attached.”

• Plasterboard over a timber or steel frame: the rail’s flanges must be screwed into the studs. Nero notes its supplied screws “are for timber wall studs”, so steel studs need screws made for steel. Instruction sheets hosted by Bunnings say fixing into studs “may require the grab rail to be installed on an angle to match the gap between the studs”. Hollow-wall anchors in the board alone are not a fixing for a grab rail.
• Brick, block or concrete: use masonry fixings rated for the load. The same instructions say the supplied fixings “are for use with solid walls only” and that matching fixings to the wall is the installer’s job.
• Tiles: tiles are a surface, not a fixing. What matters is the stud or masonry behind them.

Don’t assume a newer Sydney house has extra framing behind the bathroom walls for grab rails. In the 2022 edition of the National Construction Code, the Australian Building Codes Board says the livable housing design part “does not apply in NSW”. Find the studs every time.

Drilling through shower and bathroom tiles

The instruction sheets hosted by Bunnings say to use a “masonry bit for tiles”, and Nero’s say to “Apply small amount of silicon to mounting bracket and wall in and around the screw holes.”

A shower wall has a waterproofing membrane behind the tiles. If tiles sound hollow or drummy when tapped, are cracked, or there are signs of an existing leak, stop: that needs a waterproofer, and waterproofing is outside this minor-repair service. NSW lists waterproofing as a licensed trade category for work over $5,000.

Combined grab rail and shower rail sets that also move or reconnect the hand shower involve plumbing, which needs a licensed plumber. A standalone grab rail does not.

Support at Home funding for grab rails

Older people may be able to get grab rails funded or part-funded. My Aged Care lists “grab rails in your shower or bathroom” among the home modifications in the assistive technology and home modifications scheme under Support at Home, which replaced Home Care Packages from 1 November 2025. It says your provider “arranges an assessment from an occupational therapist”, then “coordinates installation of modifications with a qualified person”. The scheme guidelines say: “All home modifications require a prescription from an occupational therapist”.

Paying privately needs no prescription, but having an occupational therapist choose the position is still worth it.

Grab rails in rentals and strata units

Renting? Ask the landlord in writing first. The Support at Home guidelines also say older people in rentals need “written consent from the homeowner” before home modifications start. Our rental repairs guide covers asking for changes.

In a strata unit, “installing or replacing handrails” is cosmetic work under section 109 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, but the Act does not say whether a bathroom grab rail counts as a handrail, and it excludes work involving waterproofing from cosmetic work. Check with the strata manager before drilling inside a shower recess. See the strata cosmetic work guide.

What to have ready for a grab rail quote

Grab rail installation is priced per job: the wall behind the tiles and the number of rails change it. For a quote, say how many rails and where (shower, beside the toilet, bath), the wall type behind the tiles if known, whether you already have the rails, and whether an occupational therapist has marked the positions. Choose “Another minor job” on the quote form.

For heavy items that aren’t grab rails, such as mirrors and shelves, see the heavy mirror guide.