The metro police or municipality may ask you to come to a meeting to talk about your plans. We often call this a Section 4 meeting (because it is discussed in Section 4 of the Gatherings Act). They must invite you within 24 hours of getting your notice.

What if I give notice and nobody contacts me?

If the convener has given notice at least seven days before the protest, and does not hear from the local authority, the gathering is automatically legal. Make sure you keep a copy of the notice form and your proof of delivery and bring it to the protest.

But you must also watch out: in some municipalities, officials wait until the last day before your planned gathering to call you to a meeting, and then try to make you change your plans or cancel the gathering when you have almost no time to respond or to inform your community.

By law they are not supposed to do this, but when it happens it puts you in a difficult position. If you suspect the authorities are going to try to do this (for example if they have done it before), it might be a good idea to demand a meeting well ahead of the planned protest.