ASX Announcement - Announces External Auditors - 14 August 2002

In March 2002, the National announced that it had decided to open its external audit services to a competitive tender. The tendering parties were Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National's existing auditor, KPMG.

The Board has re-confirmed KPMG as the National's external auditor. This decision reflects the Board's commitment to good corporate governance and ensuring that it has access to best practice financial services audit expertise.

In announcing KPMG as the successful tenderer, the Board reiterated that its current policy prohibits non-audit work by its statutory auditor where independence may be compromised or conflicts arise. KPMG will not perform IT design and implementation services, actuarial valuations and internal audit services.

For further information, contact:

Majella Allen
Group Corporate Affairs
Tel: 03 8641 3857
Mob: 0410 440 305