Although imprisonment must be retained as a sanction appropriate to the severity of some crimes, the emphasis on imprisonment should be reduced. This is because it has a negative and destructive impact on inmates, attended by high costs and few returns. The severity of imprisonment as a sanction is underscored by the policy of reserving it for the most serious offenses, and all Australian governments, including the Federal Government, have a policy of reducing its use. The emphasis on reducing imprisonment complements and is linked with the principled approach to custodial orders recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission. Techniques for reducing the emphasis on imprisonment include a statutory mandate to make imprisonment the sanction of last resort; elimination of the prescribed minimum periods of imprisonment; and the elimination, where possible, of imprisonment as a sanction. Another strategy is to reduce the maximum period of imprisonment prescribed for certain offenses and restrict the range of maximum periods of imprisonment from which the Parliament selects the maximum imprisonment period for particular offenses. 39 footnotes.