The suspended sentence is available for offenses that are prosecuted under State law and in which the court imposes a sentence of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years. This study examined how often s 12 suspended sentences were used in the local court and higher courts in New South Wales; whether the use of such suspended sentences have increased over time; the average term of a suspended sentence; which offenses are disproportionately more likely to be given a suspended sentence; whether the availability of suspended sentences has had an impact on the use of both custodial and noncustodial sentences; and the factors that contribute to the likelihood of the imposition of a suspended sentence. The study found that over the last 5 years suspended sentences have continued to be used sparingly, i.e., 4.7 percent of cases in the local court and 13 percent of cases in the higher courts. The increase in s 12 suspended sentences over this period has been small. Possessing precursors for the manufacture or production of prohibited drugs was the offense most likely to receive a suspended sentence in a local court; and indecent assault was the offense most likely to receive a suspended sentence in the higher courts. A multitude of factors, other than the offense itself, accounted for a decision to impose a s 12 suspended sentence. Many factors could not be measured in numeric form, such as the offender's ability and willingness to undergo treatment, hardship factors, and the inappropriateness or lack of availability of other penalties. 10 tables