Men who beat their partners will come up with any excuse.
Often they breach their apprehended domestic violence orders (ADVOs), claiming they did not understand the language or the consequences.
Their lack of comprehension wastes the time of courts, frontline police and often puts victims in harm's way.
For the first time in NSW, ADVOs will be rewritten in plain English so that defendants cannot come up with any excuse for breaching their orders.
The plain English orders are designed to use language that a 13-year-old can understand and will be rolled out across the state over the next 12 months.
A readability test shows the current ADVO would need someone with 13.5 years of education to understand it.
Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service (WDVCAS) director Renata Field said she welcomed the new orders.
"We do hear a lot of people saying they don't understand the legal language or the magistrate, so being able to offer something in plain English is really important," Ms Field said.
"In practice, a lot of offenders are quite manipulative, good at working systems, so if there is any way they can show that they didn't understand [and] that will help them get out of a breach then that is a huge issue."
She said some offenders had intellectual disabilities, English was not their first language or they were illiterate.
Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton said the jargon used in previous orders was not an excuse, but the new orders would be crystal clear.
"There is never any excuse for breaching an ADVO, but we are now making these documents crystal clear so defendants are in no doubt of their obligations," Ms Upton said. "They will be written in simple language tailored to the individual, with none of the complex legal jargon you find in current ADVOs."
Justice and Police Minister Troy Grant said it would help police process orders faster and protect victims.
"We want people who are the subject of ADVO orders to know exactly what the consequences will be if they don't comply - they can expect police to be knocking on their doors," Mr Grant said. "Now the documents will spell out in plain English what the penalties for breaching an ADVO are, including up to two years in prison."
Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Pru Goward said the government was committed to putting domestic violence perpetrators squarely in the frame.
"We are sending a clear message to perpetrators: if you don't change, if you continue your violent behaviour against your partner, we will target you," Ms Goward said.
There were 11,692 breaches of ADVOs in 2013 and 12,128 incidents in 2014.
