A bed that sits at the wrong height is one of the simplest, most overlooked causes of a fall at home. A hi-lo bed reduces this risk significantly by enabling the bed to be lowered to near floor level. 

Whether you're an OT writing up an equipment recommendation, a physio managing a discharge plan, or a family member trying to keep a parent safe at home, understanding what a hi-lo bed actually does (for the person in it and those caring for them) makes the decision much easier.

Key Insights

• Hi-lo beds lower to near-floor height, reducing the distance (and therefore the injury risk) of a rolled or slipped fall from the bed.
• They protect carers and family members too, by raising to a safe working height for transfers and personal care.
• They're used across hospital, aged care and home settings, with the same core mechanism doing different jobs depending on where the person is in their care journey.
• Most hi-lo beds and pressure care mattresses are eligible for NDIS-funded beds and pressure care support, and some Home Care Package clients can access funding too.

Why Bed Height Can Be More Useful Than People Expect

Falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalisation and injury death among older Australians, and around one in four people aged over 65 has at least one fall a year. Roughly half of those falls happen at home, with residential aged care the next most common setting.

A hi-lo bed can’t remove every fall risk on its own, but it directly addresses one of the more preventable ones: the height a person falls from and the moment of getting in or out of bed unassisted. Lowering the bed closer to the floor for sleep, then raising it for a carer-assisted transfer, changes the risk profile of that moment considerably.

For clients with a documented history of falls or unsteady transfers, this is often one of the more straightforward wins in a broader falls-prevention plan, alongside other fall-prevention aids.

The Carer's Side of the Equation

The benefit isn't only for the person sleeping in the bed. Manual handling (lifting, transferring and repositioning people) is one of the biggest contributors to workplace injury in Australian health and care settings. Health care and social assistance is the industry with the single highest share of serious workers' compensation claims nationally, and body stressing remains one of the leading causes of those claims across all industries.

Raising a hi-lo bed to waist height before a transfer means a carer, support worker or family member isn't bending over a low mattress every single time. Over months and years of daily care, that difference in posture can make a significant difference. It's a small mechanical change that removes a serious occupational hazard, which is part of why hi-lo beds are so often on the equipment list for home care packages and NDIS support plans involving daily manual handling.

Where Hi-Lo Beds Can Be Used

Hospitals

In hospital, hi-lo beds (sometimes called low beds or floor-level beds) are standard for patients at high risk of falling, including post-surgical patients, people with delirium or cognitive impairment, and anyone assessed as an unsupervised fall risk overnight.

Aged Care

In residential aged care, they serve a similar purpose but over a much longer timeframe, supporting both fall prevention and the daily transfers involved in personal care.

At Home

At home, a hi-lo bed lets a person stay in their own bedroom rather than moving into a hospital-style setup that doesn't fit the room. It's usually the same core equipment as the hospital or facility version, adjusted for a home environment, and often paired with a pressure care mattress that matches the person's care needs. If you're not sure whether a full-height-adjustable bed or a simpler recline-only option is the better fit, how a hi-lo bed compares to an adjustable bed is worth a read before recommending either.

What This Means for Pressure Care 

Bed height and pressure care usually get discussed separately, but they're connected. A hi-lo bed with head and foot adjustment makes regular repositioning easier for both the person and the carer, which supports whatever pressure care strategy is already in place.

It doesn't replace a proper pressure-relieving surface, though. For anyone assessed as being at risk of skin breakdown, what a pressure care mattress does is a separate but closely related conversation.

Find the Right Fit

If you're weighing up options for a client or a family member, it's worth exploring our range of hi-lo beds or booking a consultation at the Back To Sleep showroom, where our team can talk through height range, mattress compatibility and funding pathways in one sitting.

We work directly with OTs, physiotherapists, case managers and support coordinators across Melbourne, so if you're recommending equipment on someone else's behalf, we're happy to coordinate with you and your client through the assessment and delivery process. If a hi-lo bed isn't the right fit, we can also discuss adjustable beds as a lower-cost alternative for people without significant mobility needs.

This article is general information only and doesn't replace individual clinical or occupational therapy assessment. Any decision about bed height, transfer risk or pressure care equipment for a specific person should be made with their treating health professional.

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