Large Australian Government health department
Transforming enterprise testing for Australian Government healthcare agency with Tricentis Tosca
Company overview
A large Australian Government health department delivers critical services that impact millions of Australians. As the organization prepared to support major reform initiatives within the health and care sector, its testing practices reached a critical point. Legacy automation frameworks and manual regression testing had become bottlenecks — placing pressure on skilled resources, extending delivery timelines, and limiting the organization’s ability to fully adopt Agile delivery approaches.
Test cycles regularly extended up to 16 hours, specialist knowledge was required to maintain custom-built frameworks, and the existing tooling landscape could not scale to meet increasing delivery demands. A more sustainable and scalable testing approach was required.
Industry: Government- Location: Australia
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The challenge: overcoming legacy testing constraints
Prior to transformation, the organization’s quality assurance capability relied on a fragmented set of legacy tools, including a bespoke in‑house C# framework and third‑party automation tooling. These solutions required specialized skills and ongoing maintenance, creating dependency on a small number of individuals and increasing operational risk.
Manual regression testing further constrained delivery. Lengthy execution cycles slowed feedback to development teams, defects were often detected late in the lifecycle, and integration with CI/CD pipelines was limited. Testing activities were largely disconnected from development workflows rather than embedded within them.
As a federal government entity, the organization also needed to ensure alignment with Commonwealth security and governance requirements. Any new solution had to balance speed, scalability, and strong assurance controls.
With major reform initiatives approaching, it became clear that the existing testing model could not scale effectively.
The solution: unified test automation with Tricentis Tosca
In early 2023, the organization initiated an enterprise test automation uplift to replace its fragmented legacy environment with a single, scalable platform. Following a procurement process, Tricentis Tosca was selected to support this transformation.
Rather than adopting a large‑scale rollout immediately, a major reform program was chosen as an initial pilot. This allowed teams to demonstrate value early while refining standards and approaches. A shift‑left testing strategy underpinned the implementation, with a strong focus on API automation and earlier quality engagement in the software lifecycle.
Consolidating automation into a single platform enabled teams to standardize testing across API, functional, UI, and browser‑based scenarios. This reduced tool sprawl, simplified maintenance, and supported more consistent delivery practices across programs.
Integration with Azure DevOps embedded automated testing into the CI/CD pipeline, enabling tests to be triggered as part of build and deployment workflows. Testing became an integrated part of delivery rather than a standalone activity.
To support adoption, the organization engaged an implementation partner to assist with enablement and knowledge transfer. Structured training and hands‑on support helped teams build internal capability and establish sustainable automation practices.
Implementation: establishing scalable, Agile testing practices
Migration from legacy frameworks was approached methodically. Existing test assets were assessed to determine which tests should be migrated, retired, or redesigned. Early focus was placed on integrating automation into delivery pipelines to establish continuous testing as a standard practice.
Training played a central role in ensuring long‑term sustainability. Teams were supported to develop modular, reusable test components and adopt design practices that reduced maintenance overhead as automation coverage expanded.
As reliance on bespoke frameworks reduced, teams were able to redirect effort from framework maintenance to higher‑value activities such as test design, analysis, and risk‑based assurance. A repeatable model emerged, allowing new initiatives to adopt automation more quickly using established patterns and standards.
Results and business impact
Within the initial months of implementation, the organization automated more than 1,200 test cases across its enterprise portfolio, with coverage continuing to grow as new programs adopt standardized approaches.
Indicative outcomes included:
- Test cycle duration reduced from approximately 16 hours to around 1 hour, on average
- Hundreds of hours of manual execution effort reduced, enabling testers to focus on exploratory testing, risk assessment, and quality strategy
Faster feedback loops improved defect detection earlier in the lifecycle, supporting more predictable releases and improved stakeholder confidence. Standardized automation now spans a diverse technology stack through a single platform, reducing complexity and maintenance effort.
Automation traceability and reporting features also supported alignment with Commonwealth governance expectations, improving visibility of test coverage and quality outcomes.
Reimagining testing for government delivery
The organization’s journey from fragmented legacy frameworks to enterprise‑wide test automation enabled a fundamental shift in how quality engineering supports government delivery. What began as a response to delivery bottlenecks evolved into a more strategic, scalable approach to assurance.
With major reform initiatives continuing and new programs emerging, the organization now has a testing capability that scales with demand rather than constraining delivery. Standardization, early quality engagement, and integrated automation have strengthened confidence across delivery teams and stakeholders alike.
This experience demonstrates how treating quality as a strategic capability — rather than a compliance activity — can significantly enhance delivery outcomes in complex government environments.
