Batch, a former Australian international, has led the New Zealand men's national team since the London 2012 Olympic Games finished.

Prior to that, he was head coach of the Belgium men's team for two years and was assistant coach of the Australian men for eight years, during which the side won gold at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athen and bronze in Beijing four years later.

He also played 175 internationals for Australia.

Batch oversaw a major culture shift during his time as the Black Sticks men’s coach and achieved a silver medal finish at the 2014 World League Final, fourth place at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and gold at the 2015 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

This year, his side secured bronze medals at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and Six Nations in Valencia, but were knocked out by Germany in the quarter finals at the Olympics in Rio.

“We wish Colin all the best and thank him for his dedication to the Black Sticks Men’s programme during his four years in New Zealand,” said Hockey New Zealand High Performance Director Terry Evans.

“We know this decision hasn’t been an easy one for Colin, and that having been away from his family in Australia for eight years has been the main reason for returning back home.

“Colin has developed an international programme that will lead to success into the future, making the role of head coach of the Black Sticks Men one that we know will be sought after by coaches locally and around the world.”

Hockey New Zealand confirmed it "will be recruiting for a new head coach shortly with the role hoped to be filled as soon as possible".

Meanwhile, the governing body also announced that Mark Hager has extended his contract as the head coach of the Black Sticks women's team.

The contract extension sees Hager confirm his place as head of the programme until after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“We know Mark has fielded offers from other countries, so we’re pleased to be able to confirm that he will lead the Black Sticks women through to Tokyo,” said Evans.

“Mark has been the key reason the programme has sustained success during his eight years as head coach of the Black Sticks women, which is why he has been actively hunted by other countries.

“Retaining Mark signals a strong belief in the programme, and the potential within the programme going forward to the future.

"I think the athletes will take be encouraged to know Mark had options elsewhere but has chosen to remain with the Black Sticks.”

Hager has been head coach of the Black Sticks women since early 2009 and has taken his side from a world ranking of 12th to their current fifth place.

He has guided the women to victory at the 2009 Champions Challenge, silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, bronze at the 2011 Champions Trophy and bronze at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

They were also runners-up at December’s World League Final and secured gold medal finishes at the Hawke’s Bay Cup and International Hockey Open in Darwin this year.

In August, the Black Sticks finished fourth at Rio 2016, losing 2-1 to Germany in the bronze medal play-off.

Inducted to the Hockey Australia Hall of Fame in 2008, Hager played at two Olympics and captained Australia to a bronze medal in 1996.