Here members can find Hepburn Wind’s official documents, such as Annual Reports, Rules and Survey’s of our members. You can also read about our share registry provider, update your personal details for member updates, find out about share pricing and how to sell or transfer shares.
For more information about Hepburn Wind, you can read some of our Annual Reports below or attend our Annual General Meeting which is held every November.
As a member of Hepburn Wind your shares are registered with Australia’s top share registry provider Link Market Services Limited.
Link is Australia’s leading share registry and financial services provider, managing over 25 million account records and processing more than 70 billion dollars in payments every year. They have offices in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne, enabling Hepburn Wind members to have easy access to customer support and information.
We request that all members update their details online on the Link website. The Link website enables Hepburn Wind members to provide and update your email address, bank account information and TFN/ABN details.
To update your details you will need your SRN which is listed on your Holding Statement. Please type the letter ‘I’, then zero (0) and then the number, eg I09900112345. If you need your SRN, please call Link Market Services Limited +61 1300 554 474 (toll-free within Australia) or email registrars@linkmarketservices.com.au.
*Note: Your Security holder Reference Number (SRN) may have been issued with a “c” in front. If this is the case, at step 2 drop the “c” and then type the letter I and the number 0 in front in front of your (SRN).
As a co-operative, we have a fixed share price at $1.10 (share price $1 plus $0.10 premium).
The premium was applied from 1 July 2011 and is still valid at 30/6/2020. Previous to this the share price was $1.00 (back to commencement in 2009).
Hepburn Wind assesses member returns every second year due to the administrative cost. This decision was based on over 60% of member participants in our 2017 Member Perspectives Survey endorsing that approach.
Currently, we recommend that sellers and buyers connect to each other through Share Connect which is an off-market share vendor site that we have partnered with.
To inform you of the steps, the process for selling and purchasing HW shares as an off-market transfer is:
HW is not in a position to provide valuations for shares in the co-operative. Please speak to your financial advisor.
However, as a co-operative, we have a fixed share price for people to purchase shares at $1.10 (share price $1 plus $0.10 premium). The premium was applied from 1July 2011 and is still valid. Previous to this the share price was $1.00 (back to commencement in 2009).
Hepburn Wind receives income from the sale of the electricity generated by the wind farm and associated renewable energy certificates. The project’s cash reserves will be limited in the early years due to debt service obligations and weak market prices.
The board is responsible for recommending the level of rebates and dividends to members for approval at the Annual General Meeting. The directors anticipate that the majority of earnings will be paid to member shareholders as rebates or dividends after making allowance for expenses, working capital, taxation and the contribution to the Community Fund.
Returns received from Hepburn Wind will likely be a combination of dividends, rebates and capital returns. These returns will generally be taxable under the Australian taxation system. It is currently forecast that the project will generate few franking credits in the early years of the project.
As every individual’s taxation situation is different, members should seek their own legal and tax advice before investing. We hope you understand that we are not in a position to provide tax advice.
The board has committed to review the position of the co-op with the view to pay a dividend or return of capital (RoC) to members every 2 years (a timeframe set after consultation with members as part of a recent survey).
We have recently completed a successful RoC in October 2017 and therefore the next review will be set to occur after the year ended 30th June 2019. There are a number of intricacies to consider when deciding to pay returns to members and the current considerations for Hepburn Wind are:
-Co-op still has accounting retained losses to recoup before a dividend can be prudently declared
-Co-op has large amount of tax losses to recoup before fully franked dividend can be declared
-Cashflow management required for operations and new investments
Ideally the Co-op would like to pay fully franked dividends to the members; however the current position will not allow this until sometime in the future.
As a community wind farm, right from the start, we made a commitment to share the benefits of the project with the broad community, and not just those who have invested. The community grants program has now funded 52 projects in the past six years, worth $102,730 in total.
To inform you of the steps, the process for selling and purchasing HW shares as an off-market transfer is:
-Contact is made between a seller and potential buyer via Share Connect (please note, under the Co-operatives National Law we cannot currently accept members from Queensland)
-Price and sale is negotiated between the buyer and seller.
-Once an agreement is reached, the relevant transfer form (and membership form if applicable) is completed by both the buyer and seller and sent to Link Market Services (Locked Bag A14, SYDNEY SOUTH NSW 1235)
-Link notifies Hepburn Wind of the new membership/transfer application.
-Transferor sends payment of $50 administration fee to Hepburn Wind bank account via EFT to Hepburn Community Wind Park Co-operative Limited (Bendigo Bank). BSB: 633-000, Account: 131217713 with an identifying portion of the applicant’s name in the EFT reference (e.g.SmithJ’ or ‘XYZ Super Fund’) and notifies Hepburn Wind of the transaction.
-The seller completes the financial transaction with the buyer and both inform the administration of HW that it has been received via admin@hepburnwind.com.au
-The board of HW accepts the transfer based on the rules and meeting the active member test and the above requirements at their bi-monthly board meeting, The Registrar is notified.
-Link completes the transfer of shares and the new or updated certificate of holding is issued to the buyer and the seller with a New Member Pack issued where applicable.
We will continue to sell shares directly from the co-operative at a rate of $1.10 per share with a minimum shareholding of 100 shares for locals and 1000 shares for non-locals.
Go to the Share Connect website here (https://www.shareconnect.com.au).
Merely observing the policy shifts is not an option. Your board and staff have transform the operational structure of the co-operative to weather this new operating environment.
At the same time as we continue to scrutinise every line item in the co-operative’s operating expenses, we are working to develop new income streams. Servicing debt incurs expenses and therefore we are looking to pay down the outstanding balance as quickly as possible. We all remain committed to maximising sustainable returns to members.
Hepburn Wind continues to engage across the political spectrum to speak up for our member’s interests in relation to carbon pricing, the Renewable Energy Target and community energy sector policy. Your membership is part of a united voice that is heard in political debate and will be vital to securing the future of both your co-operative and the Australian renewable energy sector.
Our experience is that most politicians are unaware that the current policy settings are hurting a large number of Australians — not just our members, but the many workers and regional communities associated with the clean energy sector.
To inform you of the steps, the process for selling and purchasing HW shares as an off-market transfer is:
-Contact is made between a seller and potential buyer via Share Connect (please note, under the Co-operatives National Law we cannot currently accept members from Queensland)
-Price and sale is negotiated between the buyer and seller.
-Once an agreement is reached, the relevant transfer form (and membership form if applicable) is completed by both the buyer and seller and sent to Link Market Services (Locked Bag A14, SYDNEY SOUTH NSW 1235)
-Link notifies Hepburn Wind of the new membership/transfer application.
-Transferor sends payment of $50 administration fee to Hepburn Wind bank account via EFT to Hepburn Community Wind Park Co-operative Limited (Bendigo Bank). BSB: 633-000, Account: 131217713 with an identifying portion of the applicant’s name in the EFT reference (e.g.SmithJ’ or ‘XYZ Super Fund’) and notifies Hepburn Wind of the transaction.
-The seller completes the financial transaction with the buyer and both inform the administration of HW that it has been received via admin@hepburnwind.com.au
-The board of HW accepts the transfer based on the rules and meeting the active member test and the above requirements at their bi-monthly board meeting, The Registrar is notified.
-Link completes the transfer of shares and the new or updated certificate of holding is issued to the buyer and the seller with a New Member Pack issued where applicable.
We will continue to sell shares directly from the co-operative at a rate of $1.10 per share with a minimum shareholding of 100 shares for locals and 1000 shares for non-locals.
Go to the Share Connect website here (https://www.shareconnect.com.au).
