diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index 239553ae1..75c2976a2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ on:
 concurrency:
   group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
   cancel-in-progress: true
-  
+
 jobs:
   lint:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -374,6 +374,11 @@ jobs:
           rc=0
           results=$(jq -r 'to_entries[] | [.key,.value.result] | join(" ")' <<< $NEEDS_CONTEXT)
           while read job result ; do
+              # The newsfile lint may be skipped on non PR builds
+              if [ $result == "skipped" ] && [ $job == "lint-newsfile" ]; then
+                continue
+              fi
+
               if [ "$result" != "success" ]; then
                   echo "::set-failed ::Job $job returned $result"
                   rc=1
diff --git a/changelog.d/10529.misc b/changelog.d/10529.misc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4caf22523
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/10529.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix CI to not break when run against branches rather than pull requests.