Gold Coast United Brillante made his
A-League debut for Gold Coast on 3 December in a 1–0 loss to the
North Queensland Fury.
Newcastle Jets On 12 May 2012 it was announced he had signed for
A-League club the
Newcastle Jets.
ACF Fiorentina On 15 July 2014, it was announced that Brillante decided to join Italian Serie A club
Fiorentina. He made his debut for La Viola against Roma in their 2014–15
Serie A opener at the
Stadio Olimpico. He was subbed after 35 minutes. His later start was against Peru side Universitario where he scored the one and only goal in the match.
Loan to Empoli Joshua Brillante went on loan to Empoli whom are also in the Serie A during the January 2015 mid season transfer period.
Loan to Como Initially starting the 2015–16 season on loan from Fiorentina to Empoli, Joshua Brillante signed a new loan deal on 28 August 2015 with Como of the Serie B for the remainder of the season. Joshua Brillante made his debut for Como on 12 September 2015 away to Livorno.
Sydney FC On 12 July 2016 Brillante returned to the
A-League, joining
Sydney FC on a three-year deal. He scored his first domestic league goal against the
Brisbane Roar on 19 November that year. He scored his second goal of the season against Perth Glory in the semi-final.
Melbourne City At the end of his contract with
Sydney FC, Brillante was in talks to extend, but in the end was signed by
Melbourne City, reportedly on a multi-year season contract.
Xanthi In September 2020, Brillante left Melbourne City to join Greek club
Xanthi under the coaching of
Tony Popovic.
Melbourne Victory In July 2021, Brillante returned to his home country to play for the Melbourne Victory also under coach Tony Popovic. He was named captain ahead of the 2021/22 season despite not having played a competitive game for the team. After 50 league games for the club and despite having a year remaining on his contract, Brillante mutually terminated his contract with the club.
Western Sydney Wanderers Shortly thereafter, on 9 July 2023, he signed a 2-year contract with
Western Sydney Wanderers, becoming the sixth
A-League Men club he will have represented. ==International career==