The legislation has moved South Australia toward more determinate sentencing, by giving courts greater responsibility for deciding prison terms and giving prisoners increased incentives to shorten their time in prison by earning remissions. The Parole Board's role has also changed; its main functions are to set and monitor conditions for offenders on parole and to institute breach proceedings where appropriate. To evaluate the legislation's impact, interviews were conducted with 101 prisoners, 92 prison officers, 52 parolees, 50 parole officers, 17 judges and magistrates, and 7 prison managers from April to November 1985. Determinate sentencing was preferred by most individuals who had direct contact with prisoners and sentence administration. Sentencing practices of judges changed as soon as the legislation was introduced; nonparole periods increased by 50 percent after 1983. Another effect of the legislation was for offenders convicted of serious crimes to spend longer terms in prison. Early releases did not increase the overall recidivism rate of South Australian prisoners, but such releases did create a credibility problem for the new system. A growth in the prison population was also an unintended consequence of the legislation. 84 references, 24 tables, 12 figures.