National day of mourning for MH17 victims

Prime Minister Tony Abbott will lead a service this morning as part of a national day of mourning for victims of the MH17 disaster.

Mr Abbott has called on all Australians to honour the passengers who died when the Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over the Ukraine last month.

For the families of passengers who were aboard flight MH17 the grief of losing their loved ones remains raw.

Today the nation will mourn with them.

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"We grieve for all of them but particularly for the 38 who called Australia home. Today, we will remember them and we will honour them," the Prime Minister said.

"We will give thanks for their lives and we will pray for their loved ones."

Flags will be flown at half mast across the country in honour of the 298 people who died on the Malaysia Airlines flight.

Among those being honoured today are the Maslin children from Perth - Mo, Evie and Otis.

Yesterday, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop broke down while recalling the moment she spoke to the children's parents.

"I knew from the moment I talked to that family that we were doing the right thing. And when they said to me as I hung up just bring them home, whatever we did over the next two weeks was to do that," Ms Bishop said.

This morning political leaders and the community will gather at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne to remember those killed.

Half a world away, investigators in Ukraine are continuing their work to recover remains from the crash site, and bring the victims home.