Prime Minister the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP and the Foreign Affairs Minister the Hon Julie Bishop MP tonight welcomed the release of the Dutch Safety Board's final aircraft accident investigation report.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of the victims of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17," the Prime Minister said.
"I know this is a particularly distressing time for those who lost loved ones on board MH17.
"I received a briefing on the report from the Dutch Safety Board this evening via a teleconference convened by Dutch Prime Minister Rutte".
Minister Bishop said the report provided critical insights into the facts and circumstances surrounding the cause of the crash.
"It determines the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, consistent with the Australian Government's initial assessment of the incident," Minister Bishop said. "The 9M314M warhead was launched from a BUK surface-to-air missile launcher located within a 320 square kilometre area in Eastern Ukraine".
"The report does not attribute responsibility for the downing of the plane. That is a question for the criminal investigation currently being conducted by authorities of the Joint Investigation Team which includes the Australian Federal Police."
We, and other partner governments of the Joint Investigation Team, remain absolutely committed to seeing justice done, following Russia's disappointing veto of the widely supported proposal for a UN Security Council mandated international tribunal.
The full text of the report is available on the Dutch Saefty Board website