Australian Court Orders Apple to Open iPhone to Rival App Stores by March 2027

Australia's Federal Court, in orders from Justice Jonathan Beach, requires AAPL to open the iPhone to competing app marketplaces, direct downloads from websites and alternative payment services for users whose Apple Account region is Australia, effective at noon Melbourne time on March 1, 2027. The orders implement the court's August 2025 finding that Apple misused its market power by restricting app distribution and payment options. AppleInsider described the requirements as DMA-like, comparing them with the changes Apple made in the European Union under the Digital Markets Act.

Under the orders, Apple must give developers the tools to distribute, install and update apps outside the App Store on substantially the same terms as App Store developers, and it may not charge for access to alternative distribution or penalize developers for using rival stores or payment methods. Developers can use non-Apple payment systems and link to them inside their apps, and Apple cannot require them to report those transactions. Apple keeps some protections: fees on App Store apps that use alternative payments are capped rather than eliminated, security scanning and notarization of externally distributed apps stay, Apple is not required to distribute rival stores through its own App Store, and the court rejected worldwide injunctions.

Apple said it will request a stay and appeal the outcome to seek a resolution that respects its intellectual property. Separately from any stay, Apple can apply between Feb. 1 and Feb. 15, 2027 for an extension that would push the effective date to May 3, 2027, subject to court approval. The court also ordered Apple to pay 85% of Epic's legal costs from the original trial and to readmit Fortnite and other Epic apps on Epic's written application; Epic said Fortnite would return to the Australian App Store the following day. Australia had been the only market excluded when Fortnite returned to the App Store worldwide in May.

The ruling adds another jurisdiction, after the EU, where Apple's App Store commission model is being opened by law. The key watch points are whether the court grants a stay pending appeal, whether Apple seeks the May 2027 extension, and how much developer activity moves to alternative payments once the capped-fee regime takes effect.