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Australian air crash investigators are headed to Kiev where they will team up with Dutch, British and possibly American counterparts but will have to wait until there is a guarantee of safety from local militias before they start work.
Australia's contribution to the international operation to recover bodies, investigate the crash and bring justice to the victims was taking shape on Monday with former Australian Defence Force Chief Angus Houston named as the government's envoy on the crisis.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Monday that Air Chief Marshal (retired) Houston would co-ordinate from Kiev Australia's contribution to the crash investigation, victim identification and help to families.
''The first priority will be to recover the remains of the victims and to secure safe and sustained access to the MH17 site,'' Mr Abbott said.
Air Marshal Houston has previously been heading the search for Malaysian flight MH370, and Mr Abbott said he was ''perfectly placed to provide the authority, the reassurance and the co-ordination'' needed in the current crisis.
Two investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and 20 Australian Federal Police officers are among the 45 Australian officials either in Ukraine or bound for the country to help.
Bureau chief Martin Dolan said air crash investigations could take up to a year.
''These investigations do take time because they need to be thorough … so it's quite possible there'll be no quick response to this.''
Under international civil aviation rules, Ukraine is responsible for the investigation, but it can delegate responsibility to another country, and there is speculation that the Dutch will take charge.
Though it is notionally an open-minded investigation - as per the UN Security Council resolution - given what Mr Abbott called ''the almost certain culpability of the Russian-backed rebels'', it is understood that investigators will essentially be gathering evidence of the suspected missile attack.
Paul Ballard, one of the bureau's crash experts who flew to Ukraine yesterday, said safety would be ''paramount''.
''We won't be entering the site unless it is safe to do so … we need it to be absolutely safe,'' he said.
While there have been concerns the crash site will have been tampered with in the meantime, Mr Abbott said he had been advised that ''access to the site … is likely to give us a very clear idea of what precisely downed the aircraft''.
