Airbnb forced to pay up to $30m for misleadingly charging Australians in US dollars

Federal court fines company $15m and orders it to pay up to $15m in compensation for making false or misleading claims to about 70,000 customers

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails,free app or daily news podcast

Australians who booked with Airbnb and were charged in US dollars could be eligible for compensation after a federal court fined the company A$15m for not making clear some bookings were not in Australian dollars.

Airbnb has also been ordered to pay out up to $15m in compensation to thousands of affected customers in refunds and conversion fees, with customers expected to get an average of $230.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup