For six years, Fortnite was missing from the iPhone in Australia. On Thursday it came back, and that is the least important thing a Federal Court judge in Melbourne did this week.
In a 235-page remedies judgment handed down on October 22, Justice Jonathan Beach ordered Apple to let anyone with an Australian Apple Account install iPhone apps from rival app stores and straight from developers’ websites. Developers inside the App Store will be allowed to use their own payment systems and link customers to cheaper prices on the web. And the part that will sting most in Cupertino: Apple is not allowed to charge developers anything for using those side doors.
Apple says it will ask for a stay and appeal. If that fails, Australia goes from having one of the most locked down iPhone markets in the world to having the most open one, starting March 1, 2027. Here is what the court actually ordered, how it compares with Europe, Japan and the US, and what it means if you own an iPhone or build apps for one.
What Justice Beach actually ordered
This judgment is the second half of a case Epic Games filed in Australia back in November 2020, a few months after Apple pulled Fortnite worldwide for adding its own payment option. In August 2025, Beach found that Apple had breached section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act, which bans companies with substantial market power from conduct that substantially lessens competition. This week’s judgment decides what Apple has to do about it.
The court found Apple held “a substantial degree of power in the iOS app distribution services market and the iOS in-app payment solutions market,” and used its developer agreement and App Store Review Guidelines to keep it that way. The fixes, according to the orders as reported by 9to5Mac, MLex and Reuters, fall into six buckets:
- Rival stores and sideloading. Australian users must be able to discover, download, install and update apps, including whole app marketplaces, from outside the App Store.
- Alternative payments inside the App Store. Apple can no longer force developers to use its in-app purchase system for digital goods.
- External links. Developers can point users to a website to pay, and can charge less there.
- Equal developer tools. The APIs and SDKs needed for outside distribution must be offered on substantially the same terms as for App Store apps.
- No access fees. Apple cannot charge fees or set conditions for using alternative channels, or price its tools in a way that discourages them.
- Fortnite returns. Apple must readmit Epic’s apps when Epic applies in writing. This order took effect immediately, which is why Fortnite was back within a day.
Beach also went out of his way to close loopholes Apple has used elsewhere. Apple cannot require developers to report sales made through other payment providers, and it cannot force them to show Apple’s own purchase button next to a rival one. Both are rules Apple imposes in Japan and Brazil.
“In response to regulatory or judicial constraints imposed in connection with the App Store that are anything other than detailed, prescriptive and precise, Apple has systematically implemented practices that seek to circumvent the practical effects of those constraints.”
Justice Jonathan Beach, Federal Court of Australia
That paragraph explains why the orders read like a contract rather than a principle. The judge looked at how Apple complied in other countries and decided to write the rules himself, down to the detail.
How Australia’s rules compare with Europe, Japan and the US
Australia is not the first country to pry the iPhone open. It is the first to do it after studying how Apple responded everywhere else. The European Union forced alternative marketplaces through the Digital Markets Act in 2024, and Apple answered with its Core Technology Fee of €0.50 per first annual install above a threshold, later reworked into a commission. Beach found that fee and its surrounding rules were designed to dissuade developers from leaving the App Store, and he banned anything like it.
Japan’s smartphone law, in force since December 2025, lets Apple decide who can run a marketplace. Would-be store operators need Apple’s authorization plus either a US$1 million standby letter of credit or an app with more than a million first annual installs. Beach cited that as evidence that “absent legal restraint, Apple is likely to impose additional conditions on alternative distribution channels that are apt to hinder new entry.”
| Rule | Australia (from Mar 2027) | European Union | Japan | United States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rival app stores | Yes | Yes | Yes, with Apple authorization | No |
| Direct web downloads | Yes | Yes, eligibility rules apply | No | No |
| Fee to use outside channels | Banned | Yes, per install or commission | Yes | n/a |
| Other payment systems in App Store apps | Yes | Yes | Yes, Apple’s button required alongside | Link outs only |
| Commission on web link purchases | Limited by court | Reduced commission | Reduced commission | Zero for now, Apple asking for 15% |
| Security review of outside apps | Automated scan plus notarization by Apple or a qualified third party | Apple notarization | Apple notarization | n/a |
The US column is still moving. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers held Apple in contempt in April 2025 and banned any commission on purchases made through outside links. The Ninth Circuit upheld the contempt finding in December but said Apple may be able to charge something, and sent the number back to her. In August 2026 Apple asked for 15%, and the Supreme Court has agreed to hear Apple’s appeal of the contempt ruling. None of that gives Americans a second app store. If you want to see what the European version looks like in practice today, our guide to alternative iPhone app stores in the EU walks through what is actually available.
What Apple still gets to control
The judgment is not a free-for-all, and Apple did win some points. Beach rejected Epic’s request to make the orders apply worldwide. He confirmed that Apple does not have to carry rival marketplaces inside its own App Store. And he left Apple a security role, although a narrower one than it wanted.
Notarization → by Apple or “a suitably qualified third party”
Payment security → “necessary and proportionate” rules for outside payment systems, explained to developers in writing first
Kill switch → only for illicit or harmful content, genuine malware, or removal required under the Online Safety Act 2021
Scope → Apple Accounts set to Australia, nothing else
The kill switch limit matters more than it sounds. Apple can revoke the signing certificate of any iPhone app, and the judge said Apple cannot use that power as “a renewed mechanism of foreclosure” against apps that came from somewhere else. That is a direct reply to fears that Apple would allow rival stores on paper and then disable their apps at will.
Three ways onto an Australian iPhone in 2027
What changes for iPhone owners in Australia
Probably nothing you will notice before March, and maybe not much right after. The first visible change already happened: Fortnite is back in the Australian App Store after a six year absence.
The bigger shift is price. A subscription service or game that sells through its own website keeps the 15% to 30% it would otherwise hand to Apple, and the orders explicitly let developers charge less outside the App Store without being punished for it. Expect music, video, dating and gaming apps to be first to advertise cheaper web prices, as they have in the US since link-outs opened up.
Rival stores are a bigger question. The Epic Games Store and AltStore already run on iPhones in the EU, so the technical work is largely done. Whether a market of Australia’s size is worth the legal and support overhead is something only those companies can answer, and the zero fee rule makes the math far friendlier than it is in Europe.
- Stick to known stores and developers. Notarization checks for malware, not whether an app is any good or honest about your data.
- Check where refunds go. Apple will not handle refunds for purchases it did not process. Read the store’s own policy.
- Watch subscriptions. Web subscriptions will not appear in your Apple ID subscription list, so cancel them where you bought them.
- Keep iOS updated. Security fixes still come from Apple, whatever store your apps came from.
What it means for developers
For developers, this is the cleanest deal Apple has been ordered to offer anywhere. There is no access fee, no per install charge, no requirement to keep Apple’s payment button next to yours, and no duty to report outside sales back to Apple. The tooling must be offered worldwide to members of the Apple Developer Program on substantially the same terms as App Store tooling, so a developer in Ohio could, in principle, ship to Australian users through their own website.
Two caveats. First, the orders apply to Australian Apple Accounts, so you will need to handle storefront checks the same way you do for the EU. Second, nobody should rebuild their release pipeline yet. Apple’s stay request could freeze everything, and its appeal could narrow the orders. Mid-February, when Apple must decide whether to seek an extension, is the next real signal.
Why Apple is fighting this one so hard
Apple’s statement to TechRadar was blunt: the company “does not have a monopoly position in Australia or in any market around the world,” and it disagrees with “a market definition that has been rejected by other courts.” It says it will appeal “to seek a resolution that respects our intellectual property and protects the safe, secure experience that consumers and developers expect from the App Store.”
The intellectual property line is the real argument. Apple’s position, in every country, is that it is entitled to charge for access to its platform, its tools and its billions of users, even when the transaction happens elsewhere. Europe and Japan let it charge in some form. Australia says it cannot charge at all for the outside routes. If that stands, it becomes the reference point every other regulator can point to, which is a bigger risk to Apple than the Australian market itself. Apple’s services business, the App Store included, is the same profit engine behind deals like the Google search payments Apple still collects, and every new country that sets fees at zero chips away at it.
There is also a separate money question still open. In a class action decided the same day, the court declined to rule on whether individual developers or app buyers were overcharged, leaving damages for later hearings. Epic’s parallel case against Google in Australia ended in a settlement in March 2026, so Apple is now the only one still fighting.
FAQ
When can Australians install apps from outside the App Store?
From noon Melbourne time on March 1, 2027. Apple can apply between February 1 and 15, 2027 to push the date to May 3, 2027, subject to court approval, and it is also seeking a stay pending appeal.
Does the Australian ruling apply in the US?
No. Justice Beach rejected Epic’s request for worldwide orders. Only Apple Accounts set to Australia are covered.
Can Apple charge a fee for third-party app stores in Australia?
No. The orders ban fees and conditions for access to alternative distribution channels and ban fees on purchases made in apps distributed outside the App Store. Apple can still require an automated security scan and notarization.
Is Fortnite back on the iPhone in Australia?
Yes. The order to readmit Epic’s apps took effect immediately, and Epic said Fortnite would return to the Australian App Store on October 22, 2026.
Is Apple appealing?
Yes. Apple told Reuters and TechRadar it will request a stay and appeal the decision.
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