diff --git a/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/__init__.py b/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 764e0f32fd..0000000000
--- a/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/__init__.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-# Copyright (c) 2020-2023, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
diff --git a/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/test_comms.py b/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/test_comms.py
index 5c69a94fd8..68c9fee556 100644
--- a/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/test_comms.py
+++ b/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/test_comms.py
@@ -17,9 +17,8 @@
 
 import pytest
 
-from dask.distributed import get_worker, wait
-
-from .conftest import create_client
+from dask.distributed import Client, get_worker, wait
+from dask_cuda import LocalCUDACluster
 
 try:
     from raft_dask.common import (
@@ -44,6 +43,29 @@
     pytestmark = pytest.mark.skip
 
 
+def create_client(cluster):
+    """
+    Create a Dask distributed client for a specified cluster.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    cluster : LocalCUDACluster instance or str
+        If a LocalCUDACluster instance is provided, a client will be created
+        for it directly. If a string is provided, it should specify the path to
+        a Dask scheduler file. A client will then be created for the cluster
+        referenced by this scheduler file.
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    dask.distributed.Client
+        A client connected to the specified cluster.
+    """
+    if isinstance(cluster, LocalCUDACluster):
+        return Client(cluster)
+    else:
+        return Client(scheduler_file=cluster)
+
+
 def test_comms_init_no_p2p(cluster):
     client = create_client(cluster)
     try: