The head of GCIS is the director-general of the department and the official spokesperson of the South African government.

The corporation was established on 18 May 1998 in terms of Section 7 (subsections 2 and 3) of the Public Service Act, 1994.

It replaced the apartheid-era South African Communication Service.

[1] In 2023, GCIS was reported to start its own streaming service at a cost of R1 billion.

[5] This is in addition to the Department of Social Development spending a portion of its budget on its own streaming service (DSDTV).