A man will face a Queensland court later Friday charged with the the murder of John Christianos, whose body was found in a wheelie bin last month after disappearing more than 17 years ago. 

Victorian police with the help of Queensland detectives arrested the 62-year-old at a Sunshine Coast home on Thursday.

He will appear in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Friday for an extradition hearing.

Mr Christianos went missing in 2001 and was last seen at his home in Bentleigh East.

An inquest in 2011 found he likely died on or after June 11, 2001.

However his cause of death and the circumstances leading to it were unable to be determined.

Workers discovered the remains of Mr Christianos, 40, on July 13 in Oakleigh South while they were cleaning out a storage unit.

Born in South Australia, Victoria Police say Mr Christianos had been estranged from his family for some time before he disappeared.

Mr Christianos was working as a graphic artist at the time of his disappearance.

Victoria Police said he was known to police across various states for a range of matters including drug use and assaults.

The storage company, which had been operating at the site for 15 years, was recently sold and cleaners were vacating the property when the body was found.

Cleaners opened one of the storage units and found a wheelie bin that was strapped shut. After removing the straps, the workers found it filled with straw or grass.

After noticing a boot in the wheelie bin, they alerted police police when they saw it was attached to a leg.

-with AAP