One in four cases finalised in NSW local courts involve domestic violence, as greater police attention leads to more protective orders.
Cases are also taking longer to progress through a system that judges and magistrates complain has been hit with an unsustainable workload.
Over one quarter of the 135,843 cases finalised in the state's local courts in 2023 involved a domestic-violence offence, according to data released by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research on Wednesday.
The proportion of domestic violence-related cases in courts was up from 20 per cent in 2019.
More proactive policing and an increased inclination to charge was driving some of that increase, bureau executive director Jackie Fitzgerald told AAP.
"Some of these offences, like breached (apprehended violence orders), are heavily related to proactive policing and police enforcement behaviour," she said.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said addressing domestic violence had been a priority during her time in the top job.
"It does feel like an epidemic and it is concerning that behind closed doors there is violence perpetrated in homes," she told reporters.
Police were being trained in preparation for coercive control becoming a criminal offence in NSW from July, Ms Webb added.
Ms Fitzgerald said policing of domestic violence had evolved with community understanding of what the crime could entail.
"I think we all appreciate now that domestic violence is more than just physical assault, it's threats and harassment and all those kinds of non-violent behaviours," she said.
Courts granted 39,814 apprehended domestic violence orders in 2023, exceeding the 2019 total by more than 6500.
The total number of the orders issued in 2023 was roughly split between Sydney and regional areas, but they were made at a higher per-capita rate in the regions.
Breaches of those orders have also increased since 2019, but they were proven at a slightly lower rate in 2023.
Finalising a defended court case took 79 days longer in 2023 than it did in 2019, the bureau's data showed.
The median time for all defended cases reached 281 days.
A case is finalised when the charges are proven or dismissed in court, withdrawn by prosecutors or are otherwise disposed of by transfer to a specialist court or tribunal.
Senior legal figures have previously complained that a shortage of judges and magistrates had led to unsustainable workloads, fuelling case delays that harmed both victims and those accused of crimes.
NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell delivered a rare public rebuke for the state government in a January speech in which he said some local courts were being forced to deal with more than 140 cases in a day.
Meanwhile, the percentage of cases finalised because the charges were proven has dropped since the pandemic.
In 2019, 91.2 per cent of defendants were found guilty of at least one charge in the local court, dropping to 87.9 per cent by 2023.
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