Malaysia's Terendak military cemetery

TERENDAK MILITARY CEMETERY

* Located at Terendak on the west coast of Malaysia, about 21km north of Malacca city.

* 24 Australian and some New Zealand casualties from the Vietnam War were flown to Terendak and buried there, rather than returned home.

* Before 1966, bodies were repatriated to Australia only if families paid 500 pounds - $16,000 in today's money - or unless the government decided to pay for it.

* From January 1966, as a result of a decision by parliament, all soldiers killed in action or who died as a result of wounds were to be repatriated at public expense.

* The new policy did not cover bodies already buried overseas.

* The Vietnam Veterans Association has been leading the campaign to have bodies interred at Terendak repatriated to Australia.

* The federal government in 2013 refused a request for the repatriation of Corporal Reg Hillier MID from Terendak to Darwin because it would set a precedent.

* A year later Veterans Affairs Minister Michael Ronaldson announced a full and thorough investigation of the issues surrounding repatriation.

* Prime Minister Tony Abbott on May 25 tells parliament the government will pay for the repatriation of the bodies.