Since early 2021, a new strain of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) has emerged in Australia. In 2022, this strain caused a widespread outbreak in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria. The outbreak has impacted over 80 piggeries, with 32 confirmed human cases across the four affected states1. Reports of clinical disease in domestic pigs involved reproductive losses including an increased incidence of stillborn and mummified piglets, as well as neurological symptoms in newborn piglets. The causative strain of this outbreak has been identified as a member of the divergent Genotype IV, previously thought to be rarely sampled and geographically restricted to Indonesia2. JEV infection models in pigs have previously focused on the more widespread genotypes I – III, with existing vaccines and serological neutralisation tests primarily based on these genotypes. We have commenced a study to establish an infection model with Australian genotype IV Japanese encephalitis virus in grower pigs. In this study, we aim to characterise the replication dynamics and immune response in 12-week-old pigs by assessing clinical symptoms, viraemia, antibody response, routes of virus shedding and tissue tropism. We expect this work to provide valuable insight into the transmission, and pathogenesis of this novel outbreak strain in the main amplifier host of JEV, and to provide a baseline for future vaccine efficacy studies and serological diagnostic development.