The NSW homicide squad has taken over the investigation into the discovery of the bones.

Forensic examination began yesterday afternoon.

Goulburn local area commander, acting superintendent Evan Quarmby, said police were sifting ''grain by grain'' through the soil surrounding the bones, and the search area was being gradually widened.

Acting superintendent Quarmby said a forensic examination of the remains, which included several bones and a skull, would confirm the age of the victim, cause of death and how long the remains had been in the forest. The results were not expected to be known for some time.

Several items had been collected from the scene, about 5km from where Milat dumped his seven victims but acting superintendent Quarmby would not comment on what had been found.

''At this stage we are still in the process of examining the scene,'' he said.

''We have collected numerous items from the scene and around the general area of scene. I won't be drawn on what they are at this stage.

''We are establishing whether they are actually connected to the matter or not and will be interpreting the evidence as time goes by.

''Certainly the processing of the actual crime scene is very meticulous and very thorough.

''We are literally sifting through soil basically grain by grain out at the location.

''We have a wider search being conducted by police who are trained in searching for evidence.

''They are literally walking along in a line form looking at every square inch of the terrain as they go.''

Acting superintendent Quarmby said police believed the remains were from only one victim, but declined to comment on who the victim may be.

It was reported yesterday that the victim was believed to be younger than Kerry Whelan, who was 39 when she was kidnapped and killed by Bruce Burrell in 1997.