A northern NSW town has farewelled fallen digger Nathan Bewes, the 17th Australian soldier to die in Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott are attending and have suspended election campaigning for the day.
Private Bewes, 23, was killed by a roadside bomb while on patrol in the Chora Valley region of Oruzgan Province on July 9.
Family and friends have arrived at Murwillumbah Sacred Heart Catholic Church for the 11am (AEST) funeral service.
Born in Kogarah in NSW, Pte Bewes joined army cadets as a 13-year-old and by 15 was a cadet under-officer.
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He joined the army in 2005 and was on his second deployment in Afghanistan, serving with the First Mentoring Task Force.
He served in East Timor in 2006. Bewes was the sixth Australian soldier to die in a little over a month.
