diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/utils.py b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/utils.py
index 0050e5b284..ae3a035ca9 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/utils.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/utils.py
@@ -74,21 +74,18 @@ def permission_denied(request):
     return redirect('wagtailadmin_home')
 
 
-def permission_required(permission_name):
+def user_passes_test(test):
     """
-    Replacement for django.contrib.auth.decorators.permission_required which returns a
-    more meaningful 'permission denied' response than just redirecting to the login page.
-    (The latter doesn't work anyway because Wagtail doesn't define LOGIN_URL...)
+    Given a test function that takes a user object and returns a boolean,
+    return a view decorator that denies access to the user if the test returns false.
     """
-    # Construct and return a decorator function specific to the permission name
-    # that has been passed in
     def decorator(view_func):
         # decorator takes the view function, and returns the view wrapped in
         # a permission check
 
         @wraps(view_func)
         def wrapped_view_func(request, *args, **kwargs):
-            if request.user.has_perm(permission_name):
+            if test(request.user):
                 # permission check succeeds; run the view function as normal
                 return view_func(request, *args, **kwargs)
             else:
@@ -100,30 +97,32 @@ def permission_required(permission_name):
     return decorator
 
 
+def permission_required(permission_name):
+    """
+    Replacement for django.contrib.auth.decorators.permission_required which returns a
+    more meaningful 'permission denied' response than just redirecting to the login page.
+    (The latter doesn't work anyway because Wagtail doesn't define LOGIN_URL...)
+    """
+    def test(user):
+        return user.has_perm(permission_name)
+
+    # user_passes_test constructs a decorator function specific to the above test function
+    return user_passes_test(test)
+
+
 def any_permission_required(*perms):
     """
     Decorator that accepts a list of permission names, and allows the user
     to pass if they have *any* of the permissions in the list
     """
-    # Construct and return a decorator function specific to the permission list
-    # that has been passed in
-    def decorator(view_func):
-        # decorator takes the view function, and returns the view wrapped in
-        # a permission check
+    def test(user):
+        for perm in perms:
+            if user.has_perm(perm):
+                return True
 
-        @wraps(view_func)
-        def wrapped_view_func(request, *args, **kwargs):
-            for perm in perms:
-                if request.user.has_perm(perm):
-                    # permission check succeeds; run the view function as normal
-                    return view_func(request, *args, **kwargs)
+        return False
 
-            # if we get here, none of the permission checks have passed
-            return permission_denied(request)
-
-        return wrapped_view_func
-
-    return decorator
+    return user_passes_test(test)
 
 
 def send_mail(subject, message, recipient_list, from_email=None, **kwargs):