Significant reforms to Australia's adult safeguarding laws and practices are in the process of occurring in the context of increasingly market‐oriented social care provision and rising human rights consciousness. Recent safeguarding developments have included federal regulatory reforms concerning disability and aged care service provision, together with significant reform activity stemming from a national inquiry into elder abuse. Despite this national activity, adult safeguarding continues largely to be an arena of state and territory responsibility. This article examines recent reform developments and asks how safeguarding laws and practices can be reformed to take account of increased federal involvement in social care regulation and the more market‐oriented ways in which social care is being provided. The article argues that while state and territory safeguarding laws and practices are unlikely to become uniform, 10 principles ought to guide continued adult safeguarding reform. These principles seek to balance respect for the autonomy of individuals with society's obligation to support those in need.

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澳大利亚成人保障的未来

在日益以市场为导向的社会护理提供和不断提高的人权意识的背景下，正在对澳大利亚的成人保障法律和惯例进行重大改革。最近的保障发展包括联邦关于残疾和老年护理服务的监管改革，以及全国对老年人虐待的调查引发的重大改革活动。尽管开展了这项全国性活动，但成年人保障仍然基本上是国家和地区责任的舞台。本文探讨了改革的最新进展，并提出了如何改革保障法律和惯例的方法，以考虑到联邦政府越来越多地参与社会护理法规以及提供社会护理的更多市场导向方式。该文章认为，尽管州和地区的保障法律和实践不太可能统一，但应该有10条原则指导继续的成人保障改革。这些原则力求在尊重个人自治与社会支持有需要者的义务之间取得平衡。