diff --git a/.changeset/neat-pigs-lay.md b/.changeset/neat-pigs-lay.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..48fee7a703
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/neat-pigs-lay.md
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+---
+'@backstage/create-app': patch
+---
+
+Switched required engine from Node.js 12 or 14, to 14 or 16.
+
+To apply these changes to an existing app, switch out the following in the root `package.json`:
+
+```diff
+   "engines": {
+-    "node": "12 || 14"
++    "node": "14 || 16"
+   },
+```
+
+Also get rid of the entire `engines` object in `packages/backend/package.json`, as it is redundant:
+
+```diff
+-  "engines": {
+-    "node": "12 || 14"
+-  },
+```
diff --git a/.changeset/tidy-windows-compare.md b/.changeset/tidy-windows-compare.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..27005542ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/tidy-windows-compare.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/cli': patch
+---
+
+Switched the Jest YAML transform from `yaml-jest` to `jest-transform-yaml`, which works with newer versions of Node.js.
diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_template.md b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_template.md
index 4c91b755ee..4ad3612ac8 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_template.md
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_template.md
@@ -38,6 +38,6 @@ labels: bug
 
 <!--- Include as many relevant details about the environment you experienced the bug in -->
 
-- NodeJS Version (v12):
+- NodeJS Version (v14):
 - Operating System and Version (e.g. Ubuntu 14.04):
 - Browser Information:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index d203fafa2c..b68a96efbe 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ jobs:
 
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        node-version: [12.x, 14.x]
+        node-version: [14.x, 16.x]
 
     services:
       postgres13:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-win.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e-win.yml
index 3e2fbe0863..f39a89e8c6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-win.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-win.yml
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       matrix:
         os: [windows-latest]
-        node-version: [12.x, 14.x]
+        node-version: [14.x, 16.x]
 
     env:
       CI: true
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
index 0fe1642394..d7754a0046 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       matrix:
         os: [ubuntu-latest]
-        node-version: [12.x, 14.x]
+        node-version: [14.x, 16.x]
 
     env:
       CI: true
diff --git a/.github/workflows/master-win.yml b/.github/workflows/master-win.yml
index c61ee4798b..873f12086a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/master-win.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/master-win.yml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ jobs:
 
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        node-version: [12.x, 14.x]
+        node-version: [14.x, 16.x]
 
     env:
       CI: true
diff --git a/.github/workflows/master.yml b/.github/workflows/master.yml
index daac9a535d..7bd73e2c61 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/master.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/master.yml
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ jobs:
 
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        node-version: [12.x, 14.x]
+        node-version: [14.x, 16.x]
 
     services:
       postgres13:
diff --git a/contrib/docker/kubernetes-example-backend/Dockerfile b/contrib/docker/kubernetes-example-backend/Dockerfile
index b7d7a9631e..4f4105838d 100644
--- a/contrib/docker/kubernetes-example-backend/Dockerfile
+++ b/contrib/docker/kubernetes-example-backend/Dockerfile
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-FROM node:12-buster
+FROM node:14-buster
 
 WORKDIR /usr/src/app
 
diff --git a/docs/tutorials/quickstart-app-plugin.md b/docs/tutorials/quickstart-app-plugin.md
index e123410fe0..938a57198a 100644
--- a/docs/tutorials/quickstart-app-plugin.md
+++ b/docs/tutorials/quickstart-app-plugin.md
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ title: Adding Custom Plugin to Existing Monorepo App
 > functionality, extend the Sidebar to make our life easy. Finally, we add
 > custom code to display GitHub repository information.
 >
-> This document assumes you have Node.js 12 active along with Yarn and Python.
+> This document assumes you have Node.js 14 active along with Yarn and Python.
 > Please note, that at the time of this writing, the current version is
 > 0.1.1-alpha.21. This guide can still be used with future versions, just,
 > verify as you go. If you run into issues, you can compare your setup with mine
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index d362338370..47c772a21a 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "name": "root",
   "private": true,
   "engines": {
-    "node": "12 || 14"
+    "node": "14 || 16"
   },
   "scripts": {
     "dev": "concurrently \"yarn start\" \"yarn start-backend\"",
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/package.json b/packages/backend-common/package.json
index 77090e13dc..4967fac228 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/package.json
+++ b/packages/backend-common/package.json
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
     "get-port": "^5.1.1",
     "http-errors": "^1.7.3",
     "jest": "^26.0.1",
-    "mock-fs": "^4.13.0",
+    "mock-fs": "^5.1.0",
     "msw": "^0.29.0",
     "mysql2": "^2.2.5",
     "recursive-readdir": "^2.2.2",
diff --git a/packages/backend/package.json b/packages/backend/package.json
index 3240635119..f564dfeeee 100644
--- a/packages/backend/package.json
+++ b/packages/backend/package.json
@@ -5,9 +5,6 @@
   "types": "src/index.ts",
   "license": "Apache-2.0",
   "private": true,
-  "engines": {
-    "node": "12 || 14"
-  },
   "homepage": "https://backstage.io",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
diff --git a/packages/cli/config/jest.js b/packages/cli/config/jest.js
index 4e11a63a6b..1df33d2395 100644
--- a/packages/cli/config/jest.js
+++ b/packages/cli/config/jest.js
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ async function getConfig() {
       '\\.(js|jsx|ts|tsx)$': require.resolve('@sucrase/jest-plugin'),
       '\\.(bmp|gif|jpg|jpeg|png|frag|xml|svg|eot|woff|woff2|ttf)$':
         require.resolve('./jestFileTransform.js'),
-      '\\.(yaml)$': require.resolve('yaml-jest'),
+      '\\.(yaml)$': require.resolve('jest-transform-yaml'),
     },
 
     // A bit more opinionated
diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index 8dabbed89d..eccd0de733 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@
     "jest": "^26.0.1",
     "jest-css-modules": "^2.1.0",
     "json-schema": "^0.3.0",
+    "jest-transform-yaml": "^0.1.1",
     "lodash": "^4.17.21",
     "mini-css-extract-plugin": "^1.4.1",
     "node-libs-browser": "^2.2.1",
@@ -112,7 +113,6 @@
     "webpack-dev-server": "4.0.0-rc.0",
     "webpack-node-externals": "^3.0.0",
     "yaml": "^1.10.0",
-    "yaml-jest": "^1.0.5",
     "yml-loader": "^2.1.0",
     "yn": "^4.0.0"
   },
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@
     "@types/webpack-dev-server": "^3.11.5",
     "@types/yarnpkg__lockfile": "^1.1.4",
     "del": "^6.0.0",
-    "mock-fs": "^4.13.0",
+    "mock-fs": "^5.1.0",
     "nodemon": "^2.0.2",
     "ts-node": "^10.0.0"
   },
diff --git a/packages/config-loader/package.json b/packages/config-loader/package.json
index 0f5bac2ffc..2f2878799e 100644
--- a/packages/config-loader/package.json
+++ b/packages/config-loader/package.json
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@
     "@types/mock-fs": "^4.10.0",
     "@types/node": "^14.14.32",
     "@types/yup": "^0.29.8",
-    "mock-fs": "^4.13.0"
+    "mock-fs": "^5.1.0"
   },
   "files": [
     "dist"
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/package.json.hbs b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/package.json.hbs
index 3f913102cb..d2cbb8829c 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/package.json.hbs
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/package.json.hbs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   "version": "1.0.0",
   "private": true,
   "engines": {
-    "node": "12 || 14"
+    "node": "14 || 16"
   },
   "scripts": {
     "dev": "concurrently \"yarn start\" \"yarn start-backend\"",
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/package.json.hbs b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/package.json.hbs
index 44af516099..194892d40f 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/package.json.hbs
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/package.json.hbs
@@ -4,9 +4,6 @@
   "main": "dist/index.cjs.js",
   "types": "src/index.ts",
   "private": true,
-  "engines": {
-    "node": "12 || 14"
-  },
   "scripts": {
     "build": "backstage-cli backend:bundle",
     "build-image": "docker build ../.. -f Dockerfile --tag backstage",
diff --git a/packages/techdocs-common/package.json b/packages/techdocs-common/package.json
index 22871ee78f..8e56c9e002 100644
--- a/packages/techdocs-common/package.json
+++ b/packages/techdocs-common/package.json
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@
     "js-yaml": "^4.0.0",
     "json5": "^2.1.3",
     "mime-types": "^2.1.27",
-    "mock-fs": "^4.13.0",
+    "mock-fs": "^5.1.0",
     "p-limit": "^3.1.0",
     "recursive-readdir": "^2.2.2",
     "winston": "^3.2.1"
diff --git a/plugins/git-release-manager/src/hooks/useGetGitBatchInfo.test.ts b/plugins/git-release-manager/src/hooks/useGetGitBatchInfo.test.ts
index b94dddf8f7..fb1a8b6919 100644
--- a/plugins/git-release-manager/src/hooks/useGetGitBatchInfo.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/git-release-manager/src/hooks/useGetGitBatchInfo.test.ts
@@ -70,7 +70,9 @@ describe('useGetHubBatchInfo', () => {
   });
 
   it('should handle repositories without any releases', async () => {
-    (mockApiClient.getLatestRelease as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValueOnce(null);
+    (mockApiClient.getLatestRelease as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      latestRelease: null,
+    });
 
     const { result } = renderHook(() =>
       useGetGitBatchInfo({
@@ -85,8 +87,16 @@ describe('useGetHubBatchInfo', () => {
 
     expect(result.current.gitBatchInfo).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
       Object {
-        "error": [TypeError: Cannot read property 'latestRelease' of null],
         "loading": false,
+        "value": Object {
+          "latestRelease": null,
+          "releaseBranch": null,
+          "repository": Object {
+            "defaultBranch": "mock_defaultBranch",
+            "name": "mock_repo",
+            "pushPermissions": true,
+          },
+        },
       }
     `);
   });
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-cookiecutter/package.json b/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-cookiecutter/package.json
index eba8ef3484..88eef336a3 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-cookiecutter/package.json
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-cookiecutter/package.json
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
     "@types/mock-fs": "^4.13.0",
     "@types/jest": "^26.0.7",
     "@types/command-exists": "^1.2.0",
-    "mock-fs": "^4.13.0",
+    "mock-fs": "^5.1.0",
     "msw": "^0.29.0"
   },
   "files": [
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-rails/package.json b/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-rails/package.json
index 0b7ccded6c..f0cd953a5c 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-rails/package.json
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-rails/package.json
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
     "@types/fs-extra": "^9.0.1",
     "@types/mock-fs": "^4.13.0",
     "jest-when": "^3.1.0",
-    "mock-fs": "^4.13.0"
+    "mock-fs": "^5.1.0"
   },
   "files": [
     "dist"
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/package.json b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/package.json
index 5bd42ec2b6..9b2863ecd5 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/package.json
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/package.json
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@
     "@types/nunjucks": "^3.1.4",
     "@types/supertest": "^2.0.8",
     "jest-when": "^3.1.0",
-    "mock-fs": "^4.13.0",
+    "mock-fs": "^5.1.0",
     "msw": "^0.29.0",
     "supertest": "^6.1.3",
     "yaml": "^1.10.0"
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index aa9530a805..c5b416a073 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -11480,6 +11480,11 @@ crypto-random-string@^2.0.0:
   resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/crypto-random-string/-/crypto-random-string-2.0.0.tgz#ef2a7a966ec11083388369baa02ebead229b30d5"
   integrity sha512-v1plID3y9r/lPhviJ1wrXpLeyUIGAZ2SHNYTEapm7/8A9nLPoyvVp3RK/EPFqn5kEznyWgYZNsRtYYIWbuG8KA==
 
+crypto@1.0.1:
+  version "1.0.1"
+  resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/crypto/-/crypto-1.0.1.tgz#2af1b7cad8175d24c8a1b0778255794a21803037"
+  integrity sha512-VxBKmeNcqQdiUQUW2Tzq0t377b54N2bMtXO/qiLa+6eRRmmC4qT3D4OnTGoT/U6O9aklQ/jTwbOtRMTTY8G0Ig==
+
 css-box-model@^1.2.0:
   version "1.2.1"
   resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/css-box-model/-/css-box-model-1.2.1.tgz#59951d3b81fd6b2074a62d49444415b0d2b4d7c1"
@@ -17390,6 +17395,14 @@ jest-snapshot@^26.6.2:
     pretty-format "^26.6.2"
     semver "^7.3.2"
 
+jest-transform-yaml@^0.1.1:
+  version "0.1.1"
+  resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/jest-transform-yaml/-/jest-transform-yaml-0.1.1.tgz#829bfa58e962d37ad1509e018791b469a8b9e92b"
+  integrity sha512-4UPmA5xs364ifqJTdnfepNMmdYL/OrjUMkWGPZndcZ1s3vUDSu0UuSe5ZrpDd7/7syb8j7JKR8D5vLec2XGNQQ==
+  dependencies:
+    crypto "1.0.1"
+    js-yaml "4.1.0"
+
 jest-util@^26.6.2:
   version "26.6.2"
   resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/jest-util/-/jest-util-26.6.2.tgz#907535dbe4d5a6cb4c47ac9b926f6af29576cbc1"
@@ -17532,14 +17545,14 @@ js-string-escape@1.0.1, js-string-escape@^1.0.1:
   resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/js-tokens/-/js-tokens-4.0.0.tgz#19203fb59991df98e3a287050d4647cdeaf32499"
   integrity sha512-RdJUflcE3cUzKiMqQgsCu06FPu9UdIJO0beYbPhHN4k6apgJtifcoCtT9bcxOpYBtpD2kCM6Sbzg4CausW/PKQ==
 
-js-yaml@=4.1.0, js-yaml@^4.0.0, js-yaml@^4.1.0:
+js-yaml@4.1.0, js-yaml@=4.1.0, js-yaml@^4.0.0, js-yaml@^4.1.0:
   version "4.1.0"
   resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/js-yaml/-/js-yaml-4.1.0.tgz#c1fb65f8f5017901cdd2c951864ba18458a10602"
   integrity sha512-wpxZs9NoxZaJESJGIZTyDEaYpl0FKSA+FB9aJiyemKhMwkxQg63h4T1KJgUGHpTqPDNRcmmYLugrRjJlBtWvRA==
   dependencies:
     argparse "^2.0.1"
 
-js-yaml@^3.13.0, js-yaml@^3.13.1, js-yaml@^3.14.0, js-yaml@^3.6.1, js-yaml@^3.7.0, js-yaml@^3.8.3:
+js-yaml@^3.13.0, js-yaml@^3.13.1, js-yaml@^3.14.0, js-yaml@^3.6.1, js-yaml@^3.8.3:
   version "3.14.1"
   resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/js-yaml/-/js-yaml-3.14.1.tgz#dae812fdb3825fa306609a8717383c50c36a0537"
   integrity sha512-okMH7OXXJ7YrN9Ok3/SXrnu4iX9yOk+25nqX4imS2npuvTYDmo/QEZoqwZkYaIDk3jVvBOTOIEgEhaLOynBS9g==
@@ -19773,10 +19786,10 @@ mkdirp@^1.0.3, mkdirp@^1.0.4:
   resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/mkdirp/-/mkdirp-1.0.4.tgz#3eb5ed62622756d79a5f0e2a221dfebad75c2f7e"
   integrity sha512-vVqVZQyf3WLx2Shd0qJ9xuvqgAyKPLAiqITEtqW0oIUjzo3PePDd6fW9iFz30ef7Ysp/oiWqbhszeGWW2T6Gzw==
 
-mock-fs@^4.13.0:
-  version "4.13.0"
-  resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/mock-fs/-/mock-fs-4.13.0.tgz#31c02263673ec3789f90eb7b6963676aa407a598"
-  integrity sha512-DD0vOdofJdoaRNtnWcrXe6RQbpHkPPmtqGq14uRX0F8ZKJ5nv89CVTYl/BZdppDxBDaV0hl75htg3abpEWlPZA==
+mock-fs@^5.1.0:
+  version "5.1.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/mock-fs/-/mock-fs-5.1.0.tgz#a9aebd4e6d74a626f84b86eae8a372bd061754e8"
+  integrity sha512-wXdQ2nIk81TYIGLphUnbXl8akQpjb9ItfZefMcTxZcoe+djMkd5POU8fQdSEErxVAeT4CgDHWveYquys4H6Cmw==
 
 modify-values@^1.0.0:
   version "1.0.1"
@@ -28272,13 +28285,6 @@ yaml-ast-parser@0.0.43, yaml-ast-parser@^0.0.43:
   resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/yaml-ast-parser/-/yaml-ast-parser-0.0.43.tgz#e8a23e6fb4c38076ab92995c5dca33f3d3d7c9bb"
   integrity sha512-2PTINUwsRqSd+s8XxKaJWQlUuEMHJQyEuh2edBbW8KNJz0SJPwUSD2zRWqezFEdN7IzAgeuYHFUCF7o8zRdZ0A==
 
-yaml-jest@^1.0.5:
-  version "1.0.5"
-  resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/yaml-jest/-/yaml-jest-1.0.5.tgz#288e541bae1b551d113d4864d6cb8f316e1bd331"
-  integrity sha1-KI5UG64bVR0RPUhk1suPMW4b0zE=
-  dependencies:
-    js-yaml "^3.7.0"
-
 yaml@^1.10.0, yaml@^1.10.2, yaml@^1.7.2, yaml@^1.9.2:
   version "1.10.2"
   resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/yaml/-/yaml-1.10.2.tgz#2301c5ffbf12b467de8da2333a459e29e7920e4b"