Imagine a defence industry company with a genuine, forward-thinking, collaborative culture; one where you’ll instantly feel welcome and find the support you need. At Hanwha Defence Australia (HDA), you’ll discover that and much more. But don’t take our word for it - hear what our people have to say.
Matthew, Capability Analyst, joined our Brisbane team in 2024. After building a long-term career with the Australian Defence Force, Matthew knew he wanted to stay within the defence industry. With HDA, he quickly realised he’d found a culture he could thrive in.
“Joining HDA was a really good decision. Most of my immediate team comes from defence, so even if we come from different defence backgrounds, we speak the same language. And, once I started to get to know the wider team and travel to Korea with colleagues, my relationships across HDA really started to blossom.”
Matthew values the fact that HDA is refreshingly people focused. He credits this, in part, to our South Korean roots.
“Many Korean expats work for HDA, and we often travel to South Korea for training and meetings, so understanding Korean customs and traditions is important. One aspect of Korean culture is welcoming people and making them feel very much at home, and HDA definitely has embraced that welcoming culture for sure.”
Matthew says this is particularly apparent when new people join our team. In fact, he now plays a key role in welcoming new faces into HDA himself.
“A huge amount of support is offered for new starters within the company. I’ll be travelling to Melbourne shortly with a new starter who’s part of our Brisbane team. I’ll take him through both the city office and the production facility in Geelong and be with him every step of the way. We try to do whatever we can to ease people in. It’s about helping people find their feet within the company and setting them up with a positive outlook from the start.”
Michelle, Senior WHS Advisor, joined us in 2022 at a time of huge growth. She’s achieved big things with us in the safety space and credits much of her success to a supportive, friendly culture.
“It really speaks to the culture at HDA that you’ve got people within the organisation who are willing to take time out of their day to encourage you, thank you, support you and build you up,” she says.
Michelle notes that the warmth and welcoming aspect of HDA’s culture is quickly apparent after meeting the team.
“When we go to certain events like Land Forces or Avalon Air Show, we’ll get complimented on how friendly our people are. It’s just a really warm and open culture. People might assume we’re militarised and regimented, but it’s quite flexible. You can be yourself here.”
