The Criminal Procedure Act 1921 (SA) provides the mandatory procedure for the formal entering of a plea of guilty. A guilty plea should be entered in open court and the defendant extended an opportunity to show why he or she should not receive a conviction or any other order [see s 67]. An intimation of a plea does not comply with the formal requirements of a guilty plea. In accordance with the Sentencing Act 2017 (SA), a person who pleads guilty to an offence is taken to have been found guilty of the offence, unless the plea is later withdrawn or the defendant found incompetent to have entered the plea [see s 5(4)(b)].

A conviction is the determination of the guilt of the defendant and must be recorded by the court [see Criminal Procedure Act 1921 (SA) s 70].

The Sentencing Act 2017 (SA) defines a sentence as the imposition of a penalty and any order which affects the penalty. A sentence includes bonds and any orders in relation to non-parole periods, as well as the decision to discharge a defendant without imposing a penalty or without recording a conviction [see Sentencing Act 2017 (SA) s 5].