diff --git a/org.eclipse.jdt.compiler.apt/forceQualifierUpdate.txt b/org.eclipse.jdt.compiler.apt/forceQualifierUpdate.txt
index 585e3c1..bcd0e06 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jdt.compiler.apt/forceQualifierUpdate.txt
+++ b/org.eclipse.jdt.compiler.apt/forceQualifierUpdate.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 # To force a version qualifier update, add the bug here
 Bug 441790 - AnnotationValue.toString is creating incorrect and truncated text that cannot be used in source code
+Bug 480835 - Failures in build due to changes not being picked up by tests
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jdt.core.tests.builder/forceQualifierUpdate.txt b/org.eclipse.jdt.core.tests.builder/forceQualifierUpdate.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0738412
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.eclipse.jdt.core.tests.builder/forceQualifierUpdate.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# To force a version qualifier update, add the bug here
+Bug 480835 - Failures in build due to changes not being picked up by tests
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jdt.core/compiler/org/eclipse/jdt/internal/compiler/impl/CompilerOptions.java b/org.eclipse.jdt.core/compiler/org/eclipse/jdt/internal/compiler/impl/CompilerOptions.java
index 09e7892..1b006ee 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jdt.core/compiler/org/eclipse/jdt/internal/compiler/impl/CompilerOptions.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jdt.core/compiler/org/eclipse/jdt/internal/compiler/impl/CompilerOptions.java
@@ -736,7 +736,7 @@
 	public static long versionToJdkLevel(String versionID) {
 		String version = versionID;
 		// verification is optimized for all versions with same length and same "1." prefix
-		if (version.length() == 3 && version.charAt(0) == '1' && version.charAt(1) == '.') {
+		if (version != null && version.length() == 3 && version.charAt(0) == '1' && version.charAt(1) == '.') {
 			switch (version.charAt(2)) {
 				case '1':
 					return ClassFileConstants.JDK1_1;