diff --git a/server/src/main/java/au/org/aodn/ogcapi/server/processes/RestServices.java b/server/src/main/java/au/org/aodn/ogcapi/server/processes/RestServices.java
index b925d6e7..f7fc21ef 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/au/org/aodn/ogcapi/server/processes/RestServices.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/au/org/aodn/ogcapi/server/processes/RestServices.java
@@ -122,6 +122,18 @@ public ResponseEntity<String> downloadData(
 
     private String submitJob(String jobName, String jobQueue, String jobDefinition, Map<String, String> parameters) {
 
+        // Filter out null or empty parameter values before submitting to AWS Batch.
+        // AWS Batch returns "Parameter values must be provided" when the job definition
+        // declares parameters but some submitted values are null/empty.
+        if (parameters != null) {
+            var suggestedCitation = parameters.get(DatasetDownloadEnums.Parameter.SUGGESTED_CITATION.getValue());
+            // empty suggested citation is acceptable since it may be from external orgs
+            if (suggestedCitation == null || suggestedCitation.isEmpty()) {
+                log.warn("Suggested citation is null or empty for job '{}'. Submitting with unavailable as value.", jobName);
+                parameters.replace(DatasetDownloadEnums.Parameter.SUGGESTED_CITATION.getValue(), "unavailable");
+            }
+        }
+
         SubmitJobRequest submitJobRequest = SubmitJobRequest.builder()
                 .jobName(jobName)
                 .jobQueue(jobQueue)
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/au/org/aodn/ogcapi/server/processes/RestServicesTest.java b/server/src/test/java/au/org/aodn/ogcapi/server/processes/RestServicesTest.java
index 04635177..3b683a0f 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/au/org/aodn/ogcapi/server/processes/RestServicesTest.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/au/org/aodn/ogcapi/server/processes/RestServicesTest.java
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonProcessingException;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+import au.org.aodn.ogcapi.server.core.model.enumeration.DatasetDownloadEnums;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
@@ -92,4 +93,27 @@ public void testDownloadDataCapturesSubmitJobRequest() throws JsonProcessingExce
         assertEquals("non-specified", captured.parameters().get("multi_polygon"));
         assertEquals(ResponseEntity.ok("Job submitted with ID: " + jobId), response);
     }
+
+    @Test
+    public void submitJobReplacesEmptySuggestedCitationWithUnavailable() throws JsonProcessingException {
+        // Arrange
+        String jobId = "67890";
+        SubmitJobResponse submitJobResponse = SubmitJobResponse.builder().jobId(jobId).build();
+        when(batchClient.submitJob(any(SubmitJobRequest.class))).thenReturn(submitJobResponse);
+        // polygons set to 'non-specified' to avoid objectMapper serialization
+
+        // Act: pass empty suggestedCitation
+        ResponseEntity<String> response = restServices.downloadData(
+                "test-uuid", "test-dname","2023-01-01", "2023-01-31", "non-specified", "test@example.com",
+                "Test Ocean Data Collection", "https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/.../test-uuid-123", "", "geotiff");
+
+        // Capture the submitted request
+        ArgumentCaptor<SubmitJobRequest> captor = ArgumentCaptor.forClass(SubmitJobRequest.class);
+        verify(batchClient, times(1)).submitJob(captor.capture());
+        SubmitJobRequest captured = captor.getValue();
+
+        String suggestedKey = DatasetDownloadEnums.Parameter.SUGGESTED_CITATION.getValue();
+        assertEquals("unavailable", captured.parameters().get(suggestedKey));
+        assertEquals(ResponseEntity.ok("Job submitted with ID: " + jobId), response);
+    }
 }