Australia App Store ruling: what changes for iPhone users

Australia's Federal Court has ordered Apple to open the iPhone to rival app stores, direct app downloads from developers' websites and alternative payment systems. Justice Jonathan Beach handed down the orders on Thursday, October 22, 2026 (Australian time), in the remedies stage of Epic Games' long-running case against Apple. Most of the changes take effect at noon Melbourne time on March 1, 2027.

The court also ordered Apple to let Fortnite and Epic's other apps back into the Australian App Store, the one country left out of Fortnite's worldwide iPhone return earlier this year. Apple says it will ask for a pause and appeal. Here is what the Australia App Store ruling actually requires, who it covers, what it means for Fortnite, and what happens next.

What the Australia App Store ruling orders Apple to do

The orders follow the court's August 2025 finding that Apple misused its market power, in breach of section 46 of Australia's Competition and Consumer Act, by restricting how iPhone apps can be distributed and paid for. According to MacRumors' summary of the orders, Apple must let iPhone users find, download, install and update apps through competing app marketplaces and websites, without charging for that access or getting in its way.

Developers must get the tools they need on substantially the same terms as for App Store apps, and Apple cannot penalize them for using rival stores or payment services. Apple also cannot ban third-party apps or rival app stores from being preinstalled on iPhones, although it does not have to list competing stores inside its own App Store.

On payments, developers can offer their own payment options and link out to other ways to pay, including inside apps distributed through the App Store. Apple cannot force them to offer its in-app purchase system alongside those options, and cannot require them to report those sales or let Apple audit them. Developers can also charge lower prices through other payment methods without Apple blocking them.

Who the ruling covers: Australian accounts, worldwide developers

The orders apply to people whose Apple Account region is set to Australia. They are not a worldwide opening of iOS. MLex reports that Epic asked for broader, global remedies and lost that part of the argument. Any developer enrolled in Apple's Developer Program anywhere in the world, and payment providers from any country, can take part in the Australian changes, and MLex says the orders have no fixed expiry date.

That puts Australia alongside the European Union, Japan and Brazil, which The Verge notes have already forced similar changes on Apple. Each market has its own rules, so a developer who wants to sell outside the App Store still has to deal with different requirements in each place.

What Apple can still charge

The court did not set a commission rate, and Engadget reports the court accepted that Apple is entitled to seek a commercial return on its intellectual property. But the orders sharply limit where Apple can collect fees. For apps distributed outside the App Store, Apple cannot charge anything on purchases made through alternative payment services or websites.

For apps that stay in the App Store, fees on purchases made through other payment methods are capped at what Apple charges for payments for physical goods or services, plus any genuine, reasonable extra costs Apple has for digital purchases. Apple does not take a commission on physical goods bought in apps, such as food delivery or ride orders. Apple also cannot make outside distribution conditional on developers selling content through its own payment system.

Engadget says the wording is designed to rule out the kind of extra charges Apple introduced in Europe, such as the Core Technology Fee it introduced in the EU.

Security checks for sideloaded iPhone apps

The ruling keeps a security layer in place. Apps downloaded from outside the App Store must pass an automated security or privacy scan and be notarized, either by Apple or by a qualified third party. Apple can add security requirements for rival payment systems only if they are necessary and proportionate, and it must explain them to developers in advance.

What Apple cannot do is put disproportionate hurdles in front of installing apps from elsewhere. Engadget says the orders require that users face no extra friction when they pay another way or install apps from outside the App Store. Apple can remove or disable an app installed from outside its store only in specific cases: harmful content, a genuine security risk, or a legal requirement.

When the changes happen: March 1, 2027

Most of the orders take effect at noon Melbourne time on March 1, 2027. Apple can ask for more time, but only by applying to the court between February 1 and February 15, 2027, with supporting evidence. If the court agrees, the deadline can move to May 3, 2027.

That timeline could still change. Apple told Reuters, AAP and Engadget that it will request a stay and appeal. Poptopic, an Australian outlet that went through the judgment, notes the judge flagged possible further discussion of a stay if Apple appeals, but did not grant one.

Is Fortnite back on the iPhone in Australia?

Not quite yet. The order covering Fortnite is separate from the March 2027 changes and does not have the same delay. It says that once Epic makes a written request, Apple must do everything necessary to let Fortnite and Epic's other apps back into the Australian App Store, as long as they comply with Apple's developer agreement and App Store Review Guidelines.

Epic posted on X that Fortnite would be "coming back to the App Store in Australia tomorrow," and AAP reported Epic said the game would return by Friday. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said Fortnite "will return alongside the Epic Games Store…soon." Engadget corrected an earlier story to say the game had not yet returned. When we searched Apple's Australian App Store listings at 13:28 UTC on October 22, Fortnite was not showing, while it was listed in the US and UK stores.

Apple removed Fortnite in August 2020 after Epic added its own payment system that bypassed Apple's commission of roughly 30 percent. The game returned to the US App Store in May 2025 and to nearly every other country in May 2026. Engadget reports that Epic held Australia back at the time because Apple was still enforcing terms the Australian court had found unlawful.

What Apple and Epic said

Epic called the orders "great news for developers worldwide and iOS users in Australia who will benefit from an open mobile app ecosystem." Sweeney described them as "a huge victory for consumers and developers."

Apple disagreed. "We respectfully disagree with many findings in this case, including a market definition that has been rejected by other courts," a spokesperson told AAP. "We will request a stay and appeal the outcome to seek a resolution that respects our intellectual property and protects the safe, secure experience that consumers and developers expect from the App Store." Apple also told Engadget it does not have a monopoly position in Australia or any other market.

Capital Brief and Engadget report the court awarded Epic 85 percent of its legal costs from the liability trial. The court had rejected Epic's separate claims of unconscionable conduct in 2025.

What about Google and the class actions?

The ruling only covers Apple. Australia's competition regulator, the ACCC, says the court dismissed Epic's case against Google by consent in March 2026 after the two companies reached a settlement that applies worldwide, including in Australia. AAP reports no orders were made about Google on Thursday.

Related class actions on behalf of Australian app developers and users are still open. MLex reports Justice Beach formalized the competition findings in those cases but declined to find that any particular developer or user had been overcharged, so the question of compensation remains unresolved. Capital Brief says a class action against Apple will proceed once the current proceedings end.

What it means for iPhone users outside Australia

For now, nothing changes unless your Apple Account is set to Australia. But the decision adds another major market to the list of places where Apple has been forced to allow other app stores and payment options, and, by Engadget's reading, the orders go further than Europe's in ruling out extra fees. If they survive Apple's appeal, they could become a template other regulators point to.

We will update this story when Fortnite goes live in Australia and when Apple files its appeal.