diff --git a/java/vector/src/main/java/org/apache/arrow/vector/complex/StructVector.java b/java/vector/src/main/java/org/apache/arrow/vector/complex/StructVector.java
index ca5f572034ce..1d122c563024 100644
--- a/java/vector/src/main/java/org/apache/arrow/vector/complex/StructVector.java
+++ b/java/vector/src/main/java/org/apache/arrow/vector/complex/StructVector.java
@@ -528,7 +528,7 @@ public void reAlloc() {
     super.reAlloc();
   }
 
-  private void reallocValidityBuffer() {
+  protected void reallocValidityBuffer() {
     final int currentBufferCapacity = checkedCastToInt(validityBuffer.capacity());
     long newAllocationSize = getNewAllocationSize(currentBufferCapacity);