Transgrid’s HumeLink project is a 365-kilometre high-voltage transmission line connecting Bannaby to Wagga Wagga and Maragle and includes the development of two new substations and two substation upgrades. The project has been divided into two contracts – HumeLink East and HumeLink West. HumeLink East commenced construction in September 2025. In March 2025, Transgrid Group issued $1.4 billion in subordinated notes to partly finance the development of the HumeLink project in the first hybrid debt issuance – which comprises a combination of debt and equity financing in the form of hybrid corporate bonds – for the organisation.
The Judging Panel recognised the size and scale of the hybrid debt issuance, noting the long non-call period for an Australian corporate hybrid bond. The issue saw strong demand from the private sector, with the transaction highly oversubscribed. The Panel noted the innovation of a dual tenor hybrid transaction, allowing debt to be paid after five years and in part up to eight years.