Ireland were brought back down to earth, in more ways than one, by the New Zealand All Blacks last weekend, but the Irish will hope to find more joy against Australia as the two teams clash in an Autumn International at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.
New Zealand gained revenge for their defeat to Ireland in Chicago by beating them at their own backyard, but then that would have been a result most expected. Ireland, though, will feel they can do better against the Wallabies, and end Australia's unbeaten run in the autumn internationals this year.
"They [Australia] improved during the Rugby Championship," Schmidt told RTE Sport of Australia. "They have been on an upward curve.
"I have no doubt they want that to continue over the next two weeks to chase the Grand Slam. There's something really tangible for them to attain. They can't attain it if they don't win this weekend, so that will be their full focus.
"I think they have named a team that's representative of how committed they are to getting this result."
Australia have defeated Wales, Scotland and France in the autumn internationals so far, to move on from that thrashing they suffered at the hands of New Zealand and with a Grand Slam in sight, they will want to put their best foot forward against Ireland.
The Wallabies are expecting a stiff test from their opponents on Saturday.
"I think if you look at the way they've played over the last month, clearly a huge challenge," Wallabies captain Stephen Moore said. "I think they're playing as well as they have for a while and they've shown that in Chicago and even last weekend, I know they didn't' get the result but they played some great rugby and their consistency was there.
"We're going to have to play our best game of the tour to win."
Where to Watch Live
Ireland vs Wallabies is scheduled for a 5.30pm GMT (11pm IST, 4.30am AEDT) start. Live Streaming and TV information is below.
India: No live coverage.
UK and Ireland: TV: Sky Sports 2 and RTE. Live Streaming: Sky Go.
Australia and France: TV: Bein Sports.
New Zealand: TV: Sky Sport. Live Sreaming: Sky Go NZ.
South Africa: TV: SuperSport 2. Live Streaming: SuperSport Live Video.
