Police say there were "extreme concerns" for a man's welfare before a nine-hour stand-off ended with the 40-year-old being fatally shot by an officer at the front door of a Mid North Coast house on Wednesday night.
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The man was armed with "a large butcher's knife" when police approached the entrance to the house in Taree, the region's most senior officer said.
But some details about the events leading up to the death of the man, who was alone in the house at the time, remain unclear.
Northern Region Commander Assistant Commissioner Max Mitchell told reporters in Newcastle on Thursday that tactical police approached the house when negotiations "stalled" several hours after emergency crews arrived at the scene - just after 1pm.
Assistant Commissioner Mitchell said police took non-lethal action against the man, including the use of a taser, but they were not effective.
"Unfortunately and tragically this man was shot, as a result of the conflict, by a police officer," he said.
"At this point in time I can say, as mentioned, tactical police are highly trained and highly skilled.
"All non-lethal forms of tactics were utilised that were ineffective. The rest of what happened - the decision-making of police and the actions of the male deceased - will be investigated by Strike Force ... investigators."
Paramedics, who were on-scene during the nine hour stand-off, performed CPR on the man.
He was taken less than a kilometre to Manning Base Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The NSW Homicide Squad has formed a strike force to conduct a critical incident investigation, with the findings expected to be handed to the state coroner.
Assistant Commissioner Mitchell said it was unclear whether mental health was a factor in the incident.
Nor was it clear whether the man, whose identity has not been publicly released, was previously known to police.
Assistant Commissioner Mitchell said officers were initially called to Robertson Street because of concern for the man's welfare after a reported "interaction" with neighbours - though he would not be specific about the nature of the interaction.
He said the critical incident investigation would look at the events in the moments leading up to the man's death.
But a statement from NSW Police released on Thursday morning said the man had "challenged" specialist tactical police as they "forced open" the door to the house.
"Certainly, I add very clearly, there was extreme concerns for welfare of this male person," Assistant Commissioner Mitchell said.
"Police were called there responding to the actions of that individual with neighbours. Now what those actions were, what took place, they'll be all clarified in due course by the investigation.
"I think the main issue here is this is a tragic and unfortunate incident ... certainly it is tragic and unfortunate for the deceased's immediate family and we've provided support to the family during the evening.
