Filer got the nod ahead of Issy Wong (21) following an impressive run of form, having taken 13 wickets across the Charlotte Edwards Cup and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy this season.
She joins Kate Cross (31) and Lauren Bell (22) in the seam attack. Left-armer Sophie Ecclestone (24) is the sole specialist spinner, while all-rounder Natalie Sciver-Brunt (30) provides another pace option.
Batter Danni Wyatt (32), who has played 245 white-ball matches for England, will also make her test debut on Thursday.
The test is the curtain-raiser of the multi-format series, with three Twenty20s and three one-day internationals to follow, as England bid to regain the Ashes from Australia after going winless in the 2021-22 series.
England team: Tammy Beaumont, Emma Lamb, Heather Knight (captain), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophia Dunkley, Danielle Wyatt, Amy Jones, Sophie Ecclestone, Kate Cross, Lauren Filer, Lauren Bell.