Australians who were duped by Nurofen's “misleading” targeted pain relief pills can apply for compensation.

Nurofen manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser has settled a class action lawsuit that will see it pay $3.5 million to customers who purchased the painkillers between 2011 and 2015.

The specific pain range claimed to target back pain, migraines, tension headaches and period pain, but carried the same ingredients as regular Nurofen painkillers.

The company made about $45 million in revenue over four years from the range, which cost almost twice as much as ‘non-targeted’ products.

The Federal Court originally imposed a $1.7 million fine against Reckitt Benckiser for misleading the market, but the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission successfully argued that the penalty did not go far enough.

The court raised the fine to $6 million, making it the highest corporate penalty awarded for misleading conduct under Australian Consumer Law.

“It was never our intention to mislead, but we recognise that we could have done more to assist our consumers in navigating the Nurofen Specific Pain Range in Australia,” the company said in a statement.

“We have taken the Nurofen Specific Pain Range cases seriously, and have taken steps to ensure that future marketing campaigns are sensitive to the risk of misinterpretation and confusion, while providing consumers with an informed choice.”

An independent third party will be brought in to divide the $3.5 million between affected Nurofen customers.

Notices will be published in newspapers calling for people who bought the products between January 2011 and December 2015 to register a claim, which can be done at nurofenclassaction.com.au/register.