The Act abolished all forms of remission, established a 1:3 ratio for additional prison to minimum terms, and removed the presumption in favor of parole for certain prisoners. Between 1900 and 1991, the number of prisoners in New South Wales increased; in 1990-1991, the average daily number of prisoners held totaled 5,712. In order to compare the effects of the 1989 Sentencing Act on the size of the New South Wales prison population and on the sentencing practices of judicial officers, sentences imposed and time served for those sentenced before the legislative change were compared with those sentenced after the Act. It was found that, after the Sentencing Act of 1989, judicial officers tended to reduce the total sentence from the average sentence that would have been handed down under the Probation and Parole Act of 1983, as well as the length of postprison community supervision. Minimum terms tended to be shorter than nonparole periods set under previous legislation. Despite these reductions, however, the average time spent in custody was longer under the Sentencing Act than under the Probation and Parole Act. It is concluded that, with the Sentencing Act, prisoners will be serving longer periods in custody and fewer will be given sentences that include community supervision. 5 figures