Matheson, who has led Rowing Australia's high performance program for the current Olympic cycle, will take up a position as General Manager Performance and Strategic Investment for High Performance Sport New Zealand.

Matheson said that despite opting to return home to New Zealand he was focused on Australia's success in London.

"Despite not extending my contract with Rowing Australia I remain fully committed to completing the project I began in 2008," Matheson said. "I feel as though the high performance program has progressed substantially over the last four years and the next three months will be a key indicator of that.

"Our crews are positioned well ahead of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games but there remains a lot of hard work over the next three months to ensure full success is realised."

Rowing Australia CEO Andrew Dee commended the work of Matheson over the past four years.

"Andrew has made a significant contribution to the immediate and future success of Australian rowing in a relatively short space of time," Dee said.

"His contribution to rowing and the broader sports system in Australia is highly regarded and he will be difficult to replace.

"It has been a pleasure to work with him and I'm sure the entire rowing community wishes him and is family the very best."