Summary of the Dividend Reinvestment Plan

The BlueScope Steel Limited (BlueScope Steel) Dividend Reinvestment Plan (the Plan) allows you to elect to receive some or all of your dividend payments in the form of additional BlueScope Steel shares.

Participation in the Plan is subject to the Rules of the Plan (the Rules). The rules may be downloaded here or may be obtained free of charge by contacting the company's Share Registry on 1300 855 998 for Australian registered shareholders or +61 2 8280 7760 for New Zealand registered shareholders.

If you elect to participate in the Plan, dividends payable on shares which are participating in the Plan will be applied on your behalf to acquire additional shares in BlueScope Steel. Shares provided under the Plan will rank equally with all other fully paid ordinary shares and will be quoted on ASX.

Participating in the Plan

For eligible shareholders, participation is entirely optional. Until further notice, only shareholders with a registered address in Australia or New Zealand are eligible to participate in the Plan.

You should obtain your own independent advice before determining whether or not you should participate in the Plan.

To participate in the Plan you will need to be a shareholder with a registered address in Australia or New Zealand. To record your election to participate, you need to complete the enclosed Reinvestment Plan Application or Variation Form and return it to the Share Registry in the reply paid envelope enclosed.

If you choose to participate in the Plan, you can elect to:

• full participation: participate in the Plan for all of your shares; or
• partial participation: participate in the Plan for some of your shares. The dividend payable on shares not participating in the Plan will be paid in cash in the normal way.

In order to participate, forms must be returned to the Share Registry by 5:00pm (Melbourne time) on the DRP Election Date for the dividend (for your election to be effective for that dividend). The DRP Election Date is usually the business day after the dividend record date.

You can alter your participation status at any time by completing and returning a Reinvestment Plan Application or Variation Form to the Share Registry. For an alteration to be effective, the form must be received by 5:00pm (Melbourne time) on the DRP Election Date for the relevant dividend.

What is the price of shares under the Plan?

The price of shares allocated under the Plan is calculated using the average of the daily volume weighted average price of BlueScope Steel shares sold on ASX for a period of 10 trading days (or such other period determined by the Board) commencing the day after the DRP Election Date (or such other date determined by the Board), less any discount that the Board may determine.

How are share allocated under the Plan?

Once the share price has been calculated, the notional cash dividend that is payable to you is divided by the DRP share price to determine how many shares you will be provided under the Plan.

The number of shares to be allocated will be rounded down to the nearest whole number with the balance being placed in a shareholder DRP account for your benefit. This balance will be taken into account when future dividends are paid.

Should you decide to cease participation in the Plan, any cash balance held in your shareholder DRP account will be paid to a charity nominated by the Company.

How much will it cost to participate?

Shares allocated under the Plan are not subject to any brokerage or commission costs. Costs of administering the Plan are borne by the Company.

You will be responsible for any costs associated with independent advice sought in relation to participation along with any tax liability or other impost resulting from participating in the Plan.

What if I have more than one shareholding?

A separate form will have to be lodged for each shareholding registered under different names or for each shareholding that has a different shareholder registration number.

When will I receive notification of my share allocation?

At the time that BlueScope Steel pays a dividend, a statement will be provided to you showing the information on the number of shares participating in the Plan at the DRP Election Date, the shares provided to you under the Plan, the share price that the shares were provided, and the balance of funds held in your shareholder DRP account to be considered for future dividend payments.

When can I sell my DRP participating shares?

You can sell your shares at any point in time, including shares that you have received under the Plan, unless your shares are restricted. For instance, shares issued as part of an employee share scheme where the vesting period has not expired, would be restricted.

Shares that are sold will be removed from the Plan as soon as a share trade has been effected or a valid share transfer document has been received by the Share Registry.

Where you have registered only partial participation in the Plan and you elect to sell some of your shares, the shares sold will be assumed to be non participating shares unless the Share Registry is otherwise notified.

What are the tax implications of participating in the Plan?

BlueScope Steel takes no responsibility for any taxation liabilities of shareholders who participate in the Plan, and does not accept any responsibility for any interpretation of, or application by, shareholders of the general information set out below. It is recommended that you seek your own independent tax advice prior to determining whether or not to participate in the Plan, if you are at all unsure of the tax implications of participating in the Plan.

Australian Residents:

Where you receive a dividend in the form of a share under the Plan, for tax purposes that dividend is treated in the same way as if the dividend was received as cash. Any franking credit that would have been applicable to a cash dividend would also apply to a dividend received as a share under the Plan.

Shares received under the Plan will generally be subject to capital gains tax on disposal, regardless of when the participating or underlying shares were originally purchased.

For calculation purposes, the cost base for shares provided under the Plan will be the amount of the dividend applied to acquire the shares and the acquisition date will be the date that the shares are issued to the shareholder under the Plan.

New Zealand Residents:

Where you receive a dividend in the form of a share under the Plan, for NZ tax purposes that dividend is treated in the same way as if the dividend was received as cash. That is, the dividend is taxable when received and a tax credit is available for any Australian withholding tax deducted. The dividend will not be subject to withholding tax to the extent that the dividend is fully franked.

Shares received under the Plan will generally not be subject to tax upon sale unless the shareholder was considered to be a dealer or trader in shares, or if the shares were purchased for the purpose of disposal, or they were sold as part of a profit-making scheme or undertaking entered into for the purpose of making a profit.

Modification of Plan Rules

The BlueScope Steel Board reserves the right to modify the rules of the Plan at any time. Any modifications or changes to the Plan will be communicated to participating shareholders by either notifying ASX or giving each shareholder eligible to participate a notice of modification.

In addition, the Board may determine to suspend or cancel the Plan should it decide that the Plan is no longer practicable or is not in the best interests of the Company to continue to operate.

Should the Plan be suspended, any elections made prior to or during suspension will be valid if the Plan is reactivated. 

More information

A complete set of Plan Rules can be downloaded here and additional Reinvestment Plan Application or Variation Forms can be downloaded here.

Alternatively, you can request a copy by calling the Share Registry on 1300 855 998 for Australian registered shareholders or +61 2 8280 7760 for New Zealand registered shareholders.

BlueScope Steel Limited ABN 16 000 011 058 BlueScope is a trademark of BlueScope Steel Limited