diff --git a/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/io/aklivity/zilla/runtime/model/avro/internal/AvroModelHandler.java b/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/io/aklivity/zilla/runtime/model/avro/internal/AvroModelHandler.java
index 1f5b4a2d4e..fca5c66849 100644
--- a/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/io/aklivity/zilla/runtime/model/avro/internal/AvroModelHandler.java
+++ b/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/io/aklivity/zilla/runtime/model/avro/internal/AvroModelHandler.java
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ public abstract class AvroModelHandler
     private final Int2ObjectCache<GenericDatumWriter<GenericRecord>> writers;
     private final Int2ObjectCache<GenericRecord> records;
     private final Int2IntHashMap paddings;
+    private final Int2IntHashMap avroOverheads;
     private final AvroBytesFW bytesRO;
     private final AvroIntFW intRO;
     private final AvroLongFW longRO;
@@ -115,6 +116,7 @@ protected AvroModelHandler(
         this.writers = new Int2ObjectCache<>(1, 1024, i -> {});
         this.records = new Int2ObjectCache<>(1, 1024, i -> {});
         this.paddings = new Int2IntHashMap(-1);
+        this.avroOverheads = new Int2IntHashMap(-1);
         this.expandable = new ExpandableDirectBufferOutputStream(new ExpandableDirectByteBuffer());
         this.in = new DirectBufferInputStream();
         this.event = new AvroModelEventContext(context);
@@ -195,6 +197,12 @@ protected final int supplyPadding(
         return paddings.computeIfAbsent(schemaId, id -> calculatePadding(supplySchema(id)));
     }
 
+    protected final int supplyAvroOverhead(
+        int schemaId)
+    {
+        return avroOverheads.computeIfAbsent(schemaId, id -> calculateAvroOverhead(supplySchema(id)));
+    }
+
     protected final GenericDatumReader<GenericRecord> supplyReader(
         int schemaId)
     {
@@ -311,6 +319,30 @@ private int calculatePadding(
         return padding;
     }
 
+    private int calculateAvroOverhead(Schema schema)
+    {
+        int overhead = 0;
+        if (schema != null)
+        {
+            switch (schema.getType())
+            {
+            case RECORD:
+                for (Schema.Field field : schema.getFields())
+                {
+                    overhead += calculateAvroOverhead(field.schema());
+                }
+                break;
+            case UNION:
+                List<Schema> types = schema.getTypes();
+                for (Schema type : types)
+                {
+                    overhead += (type.getType().equals(Schema.Type.NULL)) ? calculateAvroOverhead(type) : 1;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        return overhead;
+    }
+
     private void extract(
         Schema schema,
         DirectBuffer data,
diff --git a/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/io/aklivity/zilla/runtime/model/avro/internal/AvroWriteConverterHandler.java b/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/io/aklivity/zilla/runtime/model/avro/internal/AvroWriteConverterHandler.java
index 6b8e3e0ac6..f06d2bfa0d 100644
--- a/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/io/aklivity/zilla/runtime/model/avro/internal/AvroWriteConverterHandler.java
+++ b/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/io/aklivity/zilla/runtime/model/avro/internal/AvroWriteConverterHandler.java
@@ -46,7 +46,16 @@ public int padding(
         int index,
         int length)
     {
-        return handler.encodePadding(length);
+        int padding = handler.encodePadding(length);
+        int schemaId = catalog != null && catalog.id > 0
+                ? catalog.id
+                : handler.resolve(subject, catalog.version);
+
+        if (VIEW_JSON.equals(view))
+        {
+            padding += supplyAvroOverhead(schemaId);
+        }
+        return padding;
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/org/apache/avro/io/CanonicalJsonDecoder.java b/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/org/apache/avro/io/CanonicalJsonDecoder.java
index 3656e1d44d..a6aec3bc5e 100644
--- a/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/org/apache/avro/io/CanonicalJsonDecoder.java
+++ b/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/org/apache/avro/io/CanonicalJsonDecoder.java
@@ -103,7 +103,9 @@ public int readIndex() throws IOException
 
             String label;
             final JsonToken currentToken = lin.getCurrentToken();
-            if (currentToken == JsonToken.VALUE_NULL)
+            if (currentToken == JsonToken.VALUE_NULL ||
+                    currentToken == JsonToken.END_OBJECT ||
+                    currentToken == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME)
             {
                 label = "null";
             }
@@ -140,6 +142,14 @@ else if (currentToken == JsonToken.START_OBJECT &&
         }
         catch (InvocationTargetException ex)
         {
+            if (ex.getTargetException() instanceof IOException)
+            {
+                throw (IOException) ex.getTargetException();
+            }
+            else if (ex.getTargetException() instanceof RuntimeException)
+            {
+                throw (RuntimeException) ex.getTargetException();
+            }
             throw new RuntimeException(ex);
         }
     }
diff --git a/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/org/apache/avro/io/JsonDecoder.java b/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/org/apache/avro/io/JsonDecoder.java
index 9de5203574..26aeb6cf8a 100644
--- a/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/org/apache/avro/io/JsonDecoder.java
+++ b/runtime/model-avro/src/main/java/org/apache/avro/io/JsonDecoder.java
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ public void readNull() throws IOException
         {
             in.nextToken();
         }
-        else
+        else if (in.getCurrentToken() != JsonToken.END_OBJECT)
         {
             throw error("null");
         }
diff --git a/runtime/model-avro/src/test/java/io/aklivity/zilla/runtime/model/avro/internal/AvroModelTest.java b/runtime/model-avro/src/test/java/io/aklivity/zilla/runtime/model/avro/internal/AvroModelTest.java
index e7cfb52f07..cb43a00898 100644
--- a/runtime/model-avro/src/test/java/io/aklivity/zilla/runtime/model/avro/internal/AvroModelTest.java
+++ b/runtime/model-avro/src/test/java/io/aklivity/zilla/runtime/model/avro/internal/AvroModelTest.java
@@ -352,6 +352,38 @@ public void shouldVerifyPaddingLength()
         assertEquals(525, converter.padding(data, 0, data.capacity()));
     }
 
+    @Test
+    public void shouldVerifyWritePaddingLengthWithNull()
+    {
+        TestCatalogConfig catalog = CatalogConfig.builder(TestCatalogConfig::new)
+            .namespace("test")
+            .name("test0")
+            .type("test")
+            .options(TestCatalogOptionsConfig::builder)
+                .id(9)
+                .schema(SCHEMA_WITH_NULL)
+                .build()
+            .build();
+        AvroModelConfig model = AvroModelConfig.builder()
+            .view("json")
+            .catalog()
+                .name("test0")
+                    .schema()
+                        .strategy("topic")
+                        .version("latest")
+                        .subject("test-value")
+                        .build()
+                .build()
+            .build();
+
+        when(context.supplyCatalog(catalog.id)).thenReturn(new TestCatalogHandler(catalog.options));
+        AvroWriteConverterHandler converter = new AvroWriteConverterHandler(config, model, context);
+
+        DirectBuffer data = new UnsafeBuffer();
+
+        assertEquals(1, converter.padding(data, 0, data.capacity()));
+    }
+
     @Test
     public void shouldExtract()
     {