Summary
The Federal Court of Australia ordered Apple to allow alternative iOS app distribution and non-Apple payment methods for users with Australian Apple Accounts. Most of the required changes are scheduled to begin on 1 March 2027.
The Federal Court of Australia has ordered Apple to allow iPhone users with Australian Apple Accounts to obtain and update iOS apps through channels outside Apple’s App Store, including direct downloads and alternative app stores. The orders also require Apple to permit payment methods other than its in-app purchase system. Most of these changes are due to take effect at noon Melbourne time on 1 March 2027.
Justice Beach made the orders on 22 October 2026 in Epic Games Inc v Apple Inc (No 2). The judgment deals with remedies following an earlier liability decision: the court declared that Apple had contravened section 46 of Australia’s Competition and Consumer Act 2010. It found that Apple’s restrictions on alternative app distribution and payment methods substantially lessened competition in the relevant markets.
Alternative routes for iOS apps
Apple must make it possible for users to discover, download, install and update iOS apps through alternative distribution channels, and must provide developers with the tools and APIs needed to distribute and update them. The order covers direct downloads as well as alternative app stores operating outside Apple’s App Store.
Apps distributed through these routes must undergo an automated scan for genuine security or privacy reasons and be notarised by Apple or a suitably qualified third party. The court also barred Apple from imposing restrictions, fees or technical obstacles that would hinder alternative distribution, or from preventing iOS apps from running simply because they were not obtained through Apple’s App Store. The orders preserve specified grounds for removing or disabling an app, including harmful content, certain genuine malware risks and legal requirements under Australia’s Online Safety Act.
The ruling does not require Apple to host rival app stores inside its own App Store. The court’s orders concern distribution through channels other than that storefront.
On written application, Apple must also process compliant submissions from Epic and permit Fortnite and Epic’s other iOS apps to be admitted or readmitted to the Australian App Store, subject to terms consistent with the court’s orders.
Developers can use other payment methods
For digital content bought within iOS apps, Apple must allow developers to use payment methods other than Apple’s in-app purchase system, or to direct users to another payment method from within an app. This applies to apps distributed through the App Store as well as alternative channels. Apple cannot require developers to offer its payment system alongside their preferred option.
The orders set different fee rules for the two routes. For apps distributed outside the App Store, Apple cannot charge a fee connected to non-Apple in-app purchases or purchases of digital content made on a website or developer platform. For App Store apps, a fee associated with such purchases cannot exceed the fee Apple applies to payments for physical goods or services, plus any additional economic costs that Apple genuinely and reasonably incurs in connection with the digital-content payment.
Apple may impose security requirements on alternative payment methods only if they are necessary and proportionate to an additional security risk. The order requires reasonable prior written notice to affected developers explaining the risk and why the proposed requirements are appropriate.
The orders are limited to Australia
The operative changes apply to the Australian App Store storefront and users whose Apple Account region is set to Australia. Developers can be based anywhere, provided they remain members of Apple’s Developer Program. Although the court’s declaration of Apple’s past contravention is not restricted to a particular storefront region, the injunctions requiring changes to app distribution and payments are not a worldwide iPhone mandate.
Orders 3 to 11 are scheduled to start at noon Melbourne time on 1 March 2027. Apple may apply between 1 and 15 February 2027 for an extension to 3 May 2027; the date changes only if the court grants that application. The delay does not apply to the order concerning Epic’s apps. The judgment also says the parties would need to address whether any appeal should result in a stay of the orders.