Big & Tall Office Chairs Australia

Most "heavy duty" office chairs are ordinary chairs with a stronger gas lift. A chair that actually fits a bigger or taller body needs four things at once: a weight rating with a standard behind it, a seat wide and deep enough that the edge does not cut behind the knee, a backrest and headrest that reach the shoulders and head of someone over 185 cm, and armrests that set wide enough apart. This page lists the chairs in our range that pass those tests, with the numbers that matter.

Every chair here is in Australian stock, delivered across Australia and New Zealand, and on the floor at our Sydney or Melbourne showroom — which is where a big-and-tall fit should be decided.

The numbers that matter, by chair

• LiberNovo Maxis — the purpose-built big-and-tall chair in our range. LiberNovo rates it for 178–200 cm and up to 181 kg, cites BIFMA X5.11 (the large-occupant standard), and builds it around a 58 cm wide, 52 cm deep seat with armrests that set 40–60 cm apart and a headrest with 14 cm of height travel. Two versions: Maxis Manual (dial-set lumbar, nothing to charge) and Maxis Airflow (motorised lumbar, OmniStretch and an under-seat fan).
• Herman Miller Aeron Size C — the tall person's Aeron. Size C is recommended for 178–200 cm and rated to 159 kg on Herman Miller's size chart, with a 47.0 cm seat depth and a 40.1–57.9 cm seat height. Pellicle mesh on seat and back keeps it the coolest chair on this list. Note there is no seat-depth adjustment within a size, so sit in B and C before choosing.
• Herman Miller Embody and Embody Gaming — rated to 136 kg, with seat depth adjustable from 38.1 to 45.7 cm and a pixelated backrest that reshapes to the spine. The better choice for a tall person who wants cushioning rather than mesh. One honest limit: the backrest stops around shoulder height, so very tall sitters get no neck support without the aftermarket Atlas headrest we stock.
• Sihoo DORO-C300 Pro V2 — rated to 150 kg and fits 150–190 cm, with a 4 cm seat slide, 8D arms and recline tension that calibrates itself for 40–100 kg bodies. Reviewers found the headrest sits on the shoulders of users above about 180 cm, so it is a heavy-but-not-tall pick.
• Sihoo Vito M90, M18 and M57 — all rated to 150 kg and BIFMA tested. The Vito M90 (165–188 cm) and M18 (167–188 cm) are tuned for taller sitters; the M57 runs 155–185 cm. These are the value picks for a heavier user who is not unusually tall.
• Sihoo B100 Pro and XALLKING X5 Pro — both rated to 150 kg on Class 4 gas lifts. The B100 Pro has flip-up arms and an oversized headrest; the X5 Pro is the mesh gaming chair with a 64 cm footrest.
• UE FLOW 530 Pro — not rated for extra weight, but built tall: a 49.5 cm wide seat and backrest and a 47–56.5 cm seat height that suits people from about 170 cm and standing-height desks.

Weight ratings: what the standards actually mean

A kilogram figure on a listing is only as good as the test behind it. BIFMA X5.1, the standard most imported chairs quote, tests around a 115 kg user; BIFMA X5.11, the large-occupant standard, tests around 181 kg, and that is the one the LiberNovo Maxis cites. In Australia, AS/NZS 4438 (the AFRDI standard) is a durability test that Furntech-AFRDI regards as suitable for people up to about 110 kg; for heavier users the relevant certificate is AFRDI 142, which certifies rated loads of 135, 160 or 185 kg. If a seller quotes "AFRDI" for a 150 kg claim, ask which standard and for the certificate number. A Class 4 gas lift is the minimum we would accept under anyone over 120 kg.

Tall is a different problem from heavy

A 190 cm, 85 kg person does not need a 180 kg rating; they need seat depth, backrest height and a headrest that reaches. Check three things when you sit: two to three fingers of clearance between the seat edge and the back of the knee with your back against the lumbar; the top of the backrest at or above the shoulder blades; and the headrest meeting the back of the head, not the neck. On those tests the Aeron Size C and the LiberNovo Maxis pass for most people to 200 cm; the Embody passes on seat and back but needs the headrest; the Sihoo DORO chairs pass to about 185 cm.

Heavy is a different problem from tall

A 120 kg, 175 cm person needs the rating, a wide seat pan and a frame that does not creak, but not necessarily extra height. The Sihoo range's 150 kg ratings cover this at the lowest cost; the Aeron Size B (159 kg) and the LiberNovo Omni (136 kg to BIFMA X5.1) cover it with more adjustment. Mesh seats spread load evenly and stay cool; foam seats on the Embody and the LiberNovo chairs feel softer but compress more over years of heavy use.

How we fit big and tall customers

We hold the LiberNovo Maxis, the Aeron in all three sizes, the Embody Gaming and the Sihoo DORO chairs on the floor in Sydney (South Granville) and Melbourne (Nunawading). A fitting takes fifteen minutes: we set two or three chairs to your height and desk, you sit in them back to back, and the one your knees, shoulders and lower back prefer is usually obvious. If you cannot visit, send us your height, weight and desk height and we will shortlist from the numbers above. Read the full big and tall office chairs guide, the LiberNovo Maxis guide and the Aeron size guide, or compare every chair we stock on the full ergonomic chair range page.