If you publish an app or game on Google Play and your users are in Australia or Japan, 30 September 2026 is the date your fee structure changes — the same split-fee model that reached the US, UK and EEA on 30 June now extends to both countries, alongside a discounted programme worth checking whether you qualify for.
What actually changed in June, for context
Google split what used to be a single service fee into two separate charges. A 10% service fee applies to the first $1 million (USD) of a developer's annual earnings, and to all auto-renewing subscriptions regardless of size — that part applies whether or not you use Google's own billing system. On top of that, a separate 5% billing fee applies only if you actually use Google Play's billing system; using your own payment processor or linking out to your website avoids that second fee, though a link-out completed within 24 hours of the in-app prompt still carries a 20% service fee on that transaction.
Earnings above $1 million a year move to a standard 20% service fee (15% inside Google's Apps or Games programmes), still with the same 5% billing fee layered on top if you use Play's billing.
What happens on 30 September specifically
Two things land in Australia and Japan on that date, according to Google Play Console's own documentation. First, the fee restructuring above takes effect for developers earning from users in those countries. Second, both countries gain access to Google's Apps and Games discount programme, which drops the standard rate on earnings above $1 million to 15% for new installs or 20% for existing installs on non-recurring purchases — a meaningfully better rate than the 20% standard tier for developers who qualify.
South Korea follows on 31 December 2026, and the rest of the world is scheduled for 30 September 2027 — so if you are outside the US, UK, EEA, Australia or Japan, this specific date does not change anything for you yet, but the rollout pattern tells you roughly when it will.
Who actually benefits, and who pays more
A small developer under the $1 million threshold, selling one-time purchases and routing payments through their own processor rather than Play billing, now pays no billing fee at all and only the 10% service fee — a real cut from the flat 30% many developers still assume is standard, even though Google had already lowered small-developer rates in past years.
A developer running auto-renewing subscriptions through Google's own billing system pays the 10% service fee plus the 5% billing fee — 15% combined — regardless of revenue tier, which is the detail most likely to surprise a founder who read only the "10%" headline number and assumed that was the whole story.
What to actually do before the date
Work out which bucket you fall into — one-time purchase versus subscription, under or over the $1 million threshold, Play billing versus your own processor — because the combined rate varies meaningfully between them, and the 10% headline figure is not what most developers will actually pay.
Check your eligibility for the Apps and Games programme before 30 September, since the reduced 15%/20% rate on earnings above $1 million is not automatic — Google's documentation describes it as a programme you need to be part of, not a default.
Model the switch to your own billing system now if you have not already, particularly for subscription products, where avoiding the 5% billing fee is worth the most in absolute terms and the alternative-billing option has been available since June for exactly this reason.
The bottom line
Google Play's split fee structure — 10% service fee, plus a separate 5% if you use Play's own billing — reaches Australia and Japan on 30 September, three months after the US, UK and EEA got it. Work out your actual combined rate under the new structure rather than trusting the 10% headline, and check whether the discounted Apps and Games programme applies to you before the date lands.