Apple just got slapped for 'non-competitive conduct' by Australia’s top court — and ordered to allow rival iPhone app stores Down Under

(Image credit: gizmochina) Federal Court of Australia orders Apple to open up its iOS ecosystem in Australia to third-party app storesApple is also ordered to restore Epic Games' Fortnite back onto the Australian App StoreApple denies it has a monopoly in Australia and plans to appeal the decisionThe Federal Court of Australia has ordered Apple to fully open up its iOS ecosystem in the country to third-party competitors, with Justice Jonathan Beach ruling that the tech giant misused its market power to maintain a monopoly over app distribution and in-app payments.The ruling has also ordered Apple to restore the video game Fortnite and other Epic Games apps back onto the Australian App Store, six years after the Cupertino tech giant banned the game for bypassing Apple’s payment systems.Both orders are set to take effect at noon Australian Eastern time on March 1, 2027.“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,” the ruling read.Beach also said that Apple “devised and pursued a deliberate and comprehensive strategy of foreclosure in relation to iOS app distribution.”An Apple spokesperson told TechRadar that the company “does not have a monopoly position in Australia or in any market around the world. We respectfully disagree with many findings in this case, including a market definition that has been rejected by other courts.“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.”Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.Apple has until February 15 to appeal this decision.TechRadar has also contacted Epic Games for comment, though Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney took to X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate the ruling.The Australian Epic v Apple antitrust remedies were just issued, and are a huge victory for consumers and developers. We are studying the verdict and will share more soon. The Court has freed Fortnite in Australia and it will return alongside the Epic Games Store…soon. https://t.co/Ib1FIu1z9tOctober 22, 2026Apple and Epic Games have been going back and forth in courts ever since the former removed Fortnite from the Apple App Store in August 2020 for selling the in-game currency V-bucks in a way that would circumvent Apple’s 30% commission fee on in-app purchases.Last year, the US Supreme Court also ruled that Apple engaged in anti-competitive conduct and pricing. A separate ruling in 2024, meanwhile, forced Apple to allow US customers to add links and buttons inside their apps that bring them out to a website where they can input credit card information, though it ultimately didn’t grant Epic Games’ petition to open iOS to competing stores and payments. Sweeney, at the time, called the ruling “a sad outcome for all developers”. (Image credit: Epic Games)No more loopholes?With Apple looking to appeal this ruling, these changes are far from guaranteed to happen in March next year, but it would be interesting to see if the tech giant will adopt a similar “compliance through friction” strategy in Australia.The 2024 ruling above saw Apple implement a 27% commission on transactions completed on those external websites, a disclosure warning and restricted developers from using traditional buttons or persuasive calls-to-action language.The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) forced Apple to allow third-party app stores, sideloading (installing apps through websites) and alternative in-app payments. Apple, instead, found workarounds like implementing a “Core Technology Fee” (charging developers that opt out of the App Store 50 euro cents per first annual install regardless of whether the developer made any money), using convoluted and multi-step installation processes for third-party app stores and requiring alternate app store developers to secure a $1 million standby letter of credit.Justice Beach called them “deterrence tactics”, saying the fees blocked “any genuine prospect of competition” and explicitly addressed those “disproportionate frictions”, non-neutral disclosure sheets and discriminatory fees in the ruling.The ruling outlines specific bans that Apple has to follow:implementing the Core Technology Fee27% commissions on on transactions done through external websitesdisclosure sheetsforcing developers into new, bundled contracts just to use alternative distributionrequiring developers to also display Apple’s In-App Purchase (IAP) button alongside their preferred payment methodforcing developers to appoint Apple as their legal "agent" for marketing and delivery.Some potential workarounds that Apple may explore could be under the guise of “security standards”, using user interface design to discourage users and aggressive geofencing, or we could even see something completely different.In any case, this is far from the last time that Apple and Epic Games will face each other in court, with Apple’s appeal to the US Supreme Court scheduled for sometime during its October 2026–2027 term. The EU is still actively investigating Apple while Epic Games continues to challenge Cupertino’s policies under the DMA. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Nico is an experienced writer and journalist, having previously written for business titles across Australia. He mainly focuses on evergreen content like buying guides and reviews, as well as finding deals and coupon codes at TechRadar Australia. Outside of work, Nico is a keen cyclist and occasionally goes on runs and hikes.