31Transfer of licence

31 Transfer of licence S. 31(1) amended by No. 62/2001 s. 70(d). (1) The holder of a licence may apply to the Commission for approval to transfer the licence. S. 31(2) amended by Nos 62/2001 s. 70(d), 75/2004 s. 15(1). (2) An application must be in a form approved by the Commission and accompanied by such documents as may be required by the Commission. S. 31(3) amended by No. 62/2001 s. 70(d). (3) An application must be accompanied by the application fee (if any) fixed by the Commission. S. 31(4) amended by No. 62/2001 s. 70(d). (4) The Commission must publish in a daily newspaper generally circulating in Victoria a notice— S. 31(4)(a) amended by No. 62/2001 s. 70(d). (a) specifying that an application for the transfer of the licence has been lodged with the Commission for the transfer by the holder to a proposed transferee specified in the notice; and S. 31(4)(b) amended by No. 62/2001 s. 70(d). (b) inviting interested persons to make submissions to the Commission in respect of the application within the period and in the manner specified in the notice. S. 31(5) amended by No. 62/2001 ss 70(d), 72. (5) Subject to this section, the Commission may approve, or refuse to approve, the application for any reason it considers appropriate, having regard to the objectives of the Commission under this Act and under the **Essential Services Commission Act 2001**. S. 31(6) amended by No. 62/2001 s. 70(d). (6) The Commission must not approve the application unless the Commission is satisfied that— S. 31(6)(a) amended by No. 62/2001 s. 70(d). (a) the proposed transferee has the technical capacity to comply with the conditions of the licence or the conditions as varied by the Commission under this section; and (b) subject to subsection (7), in the case of an application for the transfer of a licence to sell electricity, the proposed transferee is financially viable. S. 31(7) amended by Nos 62/2001 s. 70(d), 8/2005 s. 14(2), 35/2007 s. 6. (7) The Commission does not have to be satisfied as to the applicant's financial viability if the licence includes a condition requiring compliance with the National Electricity Rules and the Rules include prudential requirements. S. 31(8) amended by Nos 62/2001 s. 70(d), 75/2004 s. 15(2)(3). (8) The Commission may decide that, upon the transfer of the licence under this section, the conditions to which the licence is subject are varied as decided by the Commission. S. 31(9) amended by Nos 62/2001 s. 70(d), 75/2004 s. 15(2). (9) Subject to this section and any requirements specified in regulations made for the purposes of this section under section 119, the Commission may decide the procedures that are to apply in respect of the transfer of the licences. S. 31(10) amended by No. 62/2001 s. 70(d). (10) The Commission must notify an applicant in writing of its decision to approve or refuse to approve the application and, in the case of a decision to refuse to approve the application, of the reasons for its decision. S. 31(11) inserted by No. 32/2001 s. 28(3), amended by No. 62/2001 s. 70(d). (11) The Commission must ensure that notice of the approval for the transfer of a licence is published in the Government Gazette as soon as possible after the decision to approve the transfer is made. S. 32 amended by No. 62/2001 s. 70(d), repealed by No. 3/2014 s. 5. S. 33 amended by Nos 62/2001 s. 70(d), 75/2004 s. 16, 21/2012 s. 239(Sch. 6 items 15.2, 15.3), repealed by No. 3/2014 s. 5. S. 33A inserted by No. 23/2009 s. 11.