Thousands of people protected via court-mandated domestic violence orders have been caught in a computer glitch that could leave vulnerable victims exposed to harm.
A difference between dates recorded by court officials when issuing apprehended violence orders (AVOs) and details entered in NSW Justice Department systems could have prevented any party knowing if an order is still valid.
The "system error" led to expiry-date discrepancies in more than 4700 orders issued in the state since December 2016, the department said.
While the orders were still legally valid, the expiry dates provided to parties were incorrect in those cases.
In more than one-third of cases, the dates were out by three months or more.
About 650 current orders were affected in the glitch and officials were working on an urgent fix, which should be completed for all cases by Wednesday.
Premier Chris Minns conceded the issue could have serious ramifications for people at risk of harm.
"The immediate priority is to ensure those subject to a changed date are alerted to that change," he told reporters on Friday.
"Police and the courts (need to be) aware there may be an extension to the AVO date, so if they're before the courts this weekend, the magistrate in front of them knows if they're subject to it or not."
After a spate of high-profile domestic violence cases - including the alleged murder of young country NSW mother Molly Ticehurst by her ex-partner - the use of AVOs have been central to NSW's efforts to keep people safe.
The cases spurred an overhaul of regulations, including increased penalties for abusers who persistently and deliberately breached court orders meant to prevent them from tormenting victims.
But the premier conceded individuals must have confidence in the strength of AVOs for them to serve their purpose.
"AVOs are an important tool, particularly keeping women safe when they're getting out of dangerous and unsafe households, so the system has to work," Mr Minns said.
"The number that need to be administered by police and the courts are increasing every single day, we need to make sure it's waterproof and completely tight so that people have confidence in the system."
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