MH17 investigators agree to extension

The international investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 has been extended by nine months.

The Dutch-led efforts to find out who shot down the passenger plane over eastern Ukraine in July have been hampered by an ongoing civil war and Russian intransigence.

But investigators will now have until August 2015 under a deal struck between Australia, the Netherlands, Ukraine and other nations.

Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan said Australia would work for as long as is required to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"Australia continues to encourage the international community to remain focused on finding, prosecuting and punishing the perpetrators of this cowardly attack," he said in a statement on Thursday.

There are 35 AFP officers working in the Ukraine and The Hague as part of the joint investigation team.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott this week told Russia President Vladimir Putin that Australia has information that clearly pointed to Russian involvement in the rebel attack which downed MH17.

Russia must respect the UN Security Council resolution that underpinned the investigation, he told the president when the pair met on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Beijing.

Thirty-eight Australian citizens and residents were onboard MH17 when it was downed.