diff --git a/internal/testrunner/runners/system/servicedeployer/_static/terraform_deployer_run.sh b/internal/testrunner/runners/system/servicedeployer/_static/terraform_deployer_run.sh
index b50cd53196..80054b46c2 100644
--- a/internal/testrunner/runners/system/servicedeployer/_static/terraform_deployer_run.sh
+++ b/internal/testrunner/runners/system/servicedeployer/_static/terraform_deployer_run.sh
@@ -20,10 +20,12 @@ trap cleanup EXIT INT TERM
 
 terraform init
 terraform plan
-terraform apply -auto-approve && touch /tmp/tf-applied
+terraform apply -auto-approve
 
 terraform output -json > /output/tfOutputValues.json
 
+touch /tmp/tf-applied # This file is used as indicator (healthcheck) that the service is UP, and so it must be placed as the last statement in the script
+
 echo "Terraform definitions applied."
 
 set +x
diff --git a/internal/testrunner/runners/system/servicedeployer/terraform.go b/internal/testrunner/runners/system/servicedeployer/terraform.go
index 67b79e6fca..d64d40e45d 100644
--- a/internal/testrunner/runners/system/servicedeployer/terraform.go
+++ b/internal/testrunner/runners/system/servicedeployer/terraform.go
@@ -62,16 +62,10 @@ func addTerraformOutputs(outCtxt ServiceContext) error {
 	}
 
 	// Unmarshall the data into `terraformOutputs`
-	logger.Debug("Unmarshalling terraform output json")
+	logger.Debug("Unmarshalling terraform output JSON")
 	var terraformOutputs map[string]OutputMeta
-
-	if !json.Valid(content) {
-		logger.Debug("Invalid Json content in the terraform output file, skipped creating outputs")
-		return nil
-	}
-
 	if err = json.Unmarshal(content, &terraformOutputs); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("error during json Unmarshal %w", err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("error during JSON Unmarshal: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	if len(terraformOutputs) == 0 {
@@ -166,7 +160,7 @@ func (tsd TerraformServiceDeployer) SetUp(inCtxt ServiceContext) (DeployedServic
 
 	err = addTerraformOutputs(outCtxt)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("could not handle terraform output %w", err)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("could not handle terraform output: %w", err)
 	}
 	service.ctxt = outCtxt
 	return &service, nil
diff --git a/internal/testrunner/runners/system/servicedeployer/terraform_test.go b/internal/testrunner/runners/system/servicedeployer/terraform_test.go
index ce19808beb..c8ee673b0f 100644
--- a/internal/testrunner/runners/system/servicedeployer/terraform_test.go
+++ b/internal/testrunner/runners/system/servicedeployer/terraform_test.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ func TestAddTerraformOutputs(t *testing.T) {
 		runId         string
 		content       []byte
 		expectedProps map[string]interface{}
+		expectedError bool
 	}{
 		{
 			testName: "invalid_json_output",
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@ func TestAddTerraformOutputs(t *testing.T) {
 				``,
 			),
 			expectedProps: map[string]interface{}{},
+			expectedError: true,
 		},
 		{
 			testName: "empty_json_output",
@@ -145,6 +147,10 @@ func TestAddTerraformOutputs(t *testing.T) {
 
 			// Test that the terraform output values are generated correctly
 			err := addTerraformOutputs(tc.ctxt)
+			if tc.expectedError {
+				require.Error(t, err)
+				return
+			}
 			require.NoError(t, err)
 			assert.Equal(t, tc.expectedProps, tc.ctxt.CustomProperties)
 		})