South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts57A—Rules may make provision for written guilty pleas
(1) The Magistrates
Court may make rules to provide for a person against whom an information has
been laid for an offence that is not punishable by imprisonment (either for a
first or subsequent offence) to elect to plead guilty to the offence without
appearing in the Court in obedience to a summons.
(2) Without limiting
the generality of subsection (1), the rules may make provision for any of
the following matters:
(a) the
forms of information and summons;
(b) the
manner in which an information or summons is to be given or sent to, or served
on, a person;
(c) the
manner in which a plea of guilty may be made and given to the Magistrates
Court;
(d) any
other matter that is, in the opinion of the Court, necessary or expedient for
the purposes of this section.
(3) A defendant who
returns a form in which the defendant pleads guilty in accordance with the
rules need not attend the Magistrates Court as directed by the summons.
(4) If a defendant who
has been served with forms of information and summons in accordance with the
rules fails to return a form pleading guilty in accordance with the rules, and
fails to appear in obedience to the summons, the Magistrates Court may,
subject to section 62B, proceed to exercise its powers under
section 62(1)(a) or (b).
(5) This section does
not apply in relation to a defendant who is a child within the meaning of the
Young Offenders Act 1993 except where the defendant—
(a) is
of or above the age of 16 years; and
(b) is
charged with an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1961 .