2026FCA1552 Orders Apple to Enable Alternative App Stores, Sideloading and Third-Party Payments in Australia

Judgment 2026FCA1552 grants Epic relief after finding Apple's App Store terms constitute an unlawful restraint on trade under Australian competition law. The order mandates removal of technical and contractual barriers to third-party app distribution and in-app billing within 120 days of the sealed decision. Apple must publish API documentation for sideloading and accept external payment processors without the prior 30 percent commission structure.

The ruling cites internal Apple documents showing 87 percent gross margins on App Store services and developer complaints documenting 22 percent revenue leakage from payment workarounds. Comparable EU DMA enforcement produced a 14 percent increase in alternative store listings within nine months. No equivalent benchmark exists yet for the Australian market because prior enforcement relied solely on undertakings.

This decision diverges from the 2021 US Epic v Apple outcome by rejecting Apple's security justifications after examining actual exploit data submitted by both parties. Implementation will require Apple to segment its Australian App Store catalog and payment flows separately from global systems, raising operational costs documented in prior DMA compliance filings at 4-7 million euros per jurisdiction annually.