ABSTRACT
Although considerable attention has been paid to promoting interprofessional developments in Australian health and social welfare, recent evidence suggests that the boundaries between professions have reformed rather than reduced. The policy context of economic rationalism, with a subsequent emphasis on the managerial restructuring of organisation and practice, must be understood as the circumstances to which the professions have responded. The persistence of some strong professional boundaries can be seen as plausible in these circumstances, even though there is conflicting evidence about the benefits for service users.
