Assistant coach Matt Parish is leaving the Canberra Raiders, with the NRL club agreeing to an early release from his contract.

Parish will depart the club this week and return to Sydney, citing a desire to live closer to his family.

The Raiders will immediately begin searching for a replacement, chief executive Don Furner says.

“Matt sought an early release from the final year of his contract for family reasons and the Raiders were sympathetic to that request,” Furner said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Both parties agreed it was important for this to happen now to minimise the disruption to the team and maximise the chances of Matt securing his coaching future.”

Parish was contracted to the end of the 2016 season.