Australian court orders Apple to allow rival iPhone app stores by March

Australia's Federal Court issued its relief orders in Epic Games v Apple on October 22, 2026, more than a year after Justice Jonathan Beach found in August 2025 that Apple misused its market power under section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

What the orders require

The main orders cover users whose Apple Account region is set to Australia, but any member of the Apple Developer Program, wherever it is based, can use them.

• Distribution: users can get and update iOS apps, including rival app stores, from websites and other marketplaces, with developer tools on App Store terms.
• Security: those apps need an automated scan and notarization by Apple or a qualified third party, with no disproportionate friction.
• Payments: App Store apps may use other payment methods and link out, without Apple requiring In-App Purchase alongside them or audit rights.
• Fees: none on outside purchases in apps distributed outside the App Store; for App Store apps, capped at the physical goods rate plus genuine extra costs.
• Timing: noon Melbourne time on March 1, 2027. Apple may apply between February 1 and 15 for an extension to May 3, 2027.

Separately, Apple must readmit Fortnite and other Epic apps to the Australian App Store when Epic applies in writing, and that order is not delayed.

How it compares

Apple already supports alternative distribution in Brazil, since June under an agreement with the regulator CADE, and in the EU, where new unified terms took effect October 1 with a 5 percent Core Technology Commission on apps distributed outside the App Store. The Australian order goes further on money by barring any fee on outside purchases in those apps. Apple told Reuters it will appeal and ask for a pause.

Who should act

Developers with Australian customers should read the orders now and budget engineering time for March, including notarization and any payment provider changes. Australian iPhone users have nothing to do, and the App Store works exactly as before.

This does not mean sideloading arrives in Australia today, or anywhere else, since the injunctions cover only Australian accounts.

Our take: an appeal and stay request could push the dates out, but Brazil and the EU show Apple can build this plumbing quickly once it has to.

Caveat: Apple's appeal plans come from Reuters, and the court has not ruled on any stay.

Primary Sources

• [Federal Court of Australia: Epic Games Inc v Apple Inc (No 2) [2026] FCA 1552](https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2026/2026fca1552)
• Apple Newsroom: Apple announces changes for apps in the European Union
• Apple Newsroom: Apple announces changes to iOS in Brazil
• MacRumors: Apple Ordered to Open iPhone to Rival App Stores in Australia
• 9to5Mac: Apple must open iPhone to alternative app stores in Australia after Epic Games ruling