Rather than turn to the more experienced hand of James O'Connor, Schmidt has brought two-cap international Edmed in to replace Tom Lynagh as one of four changes to the starting side for Saturday's meeting with Argentina in Sydney.
Lynagh picked up a hamstring strain in last weekend's last-gasp 28-24 Rugby Championship win over Los Pumas in Townsville.
"We'd love to give him (Edmed) the best chance in a specialist position this weekend," Schmidt said.
"The best opportunity to do that was to put him in from the start."
ACT Brumbies-bound Edmed, who was dropped by the NSW Waratahs midway through the most recent Super Rugby Pacific season, will partner Nic White in the halves, with Tate McDermott again in the reserves.
How many shots Edmed gets to impress Schmidt as his starting No. 10 will likely depend on Lynagh's fitness and the availability of O'Connor.
O'Connor is expected to link up with new club Leicester Tigers in the coming weeks in a move which would deny the 35-year-old the chance to take part in Australia's Bledisloe Cup campaign.
Schmidt discussed O'Connor's availability for matches against New Zealand with Leicester head coach Geoff Parling over recent days and said he would have a clearer picture after the Argentina clash.
"We talked briefly about James and for us it's just about getting to the end of Saturday and then having another discussion just around who we have in terms of our 10s," Schmidt said.
"We've got a very short-term focus but a long-term vision and part of that long-term vision is by the time we get to the 2027 World Cup, we need some players who've got experience at 10.
"I'm not saying that James can't play all the way through, but we've got some young 10s who we know would benefit from the experiences of pressure cooker Test matches.
"The more confidence they build, I think the better they will be at staying calm in those heated moments where it's hard to see the wood for the trees."
Edmed will be tasked with striking up a chemistry with a new-look backline after Hunter Paisami was named at inside centre to partner Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.
Len Ikitau will miss Saturday's sold-out match at Allianz Stadium with a knee laceration.
Elsewhere, James Slipper returns to the front row while a back complaint has led to the Wallabies resting lock forward Nick Frost.
Jeremy Williams will come into the second row to cover Frost while Reds lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto has been included in his first Test squad of the year.
Schmidt described Salakaia-Loto, who impressed in games against the British and Irish Lions for the Reds, AUNZ Invitational team, and the First Nations and Pasifika XV, as a "big physical presence".
Fellow Queenslander Josh Nasser has taken the place of Brandon Paenga-Amosa as the back-up hooker in the other change to the bench.
Meanwhile, Schmidt confirmed he was still in talks with La Rochelle coach Ronan O'Gara surrounding the availability of Will Skelton for the All Blacks Tests but didn't reveal any further update on his hopes of the lock returning to the Wallabies set-up.
Wallabies: James Slipper, Billy Pollard, Taniela Tupou, Jeremy Williams, Tom Hooper, Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (c), Nic White, Tane Edmed, Corey Toole, Hunter Paisami, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Max Jorgensen, Andrew Kellaway. Res: Josh Nasser, Zane Nonggor, Zane Nonggorr, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, James O'Connor, Filipo Daugunu.
Argentina: Mayco Vivas, Julian Montoya (c), Joel Sclavi, Franco Molina, Pedro Rubiolo, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Marcos Kremer, Pablo Matera, Gonzalo Garcia, Santiago Carreras, Mateo Carreras, Santiago Chocobares, Lucio Cinti, Bautista Delguy, Juan Cruz Mallia. Res: Ignacio Ruiz, Boris Wenger, Francisco Coria Marchetti, Franco Molina, Pablo Matera, Agustin Moyano, Justo Piccardo, Ignacio Mendy.
