A 38-year-old man was shot dead by police after driving at officers who were attending an address on Tea Tree Road just before 8pm on Monday night.

Police were called to the address with reports the man was armed with a knife and a small fire was burning within the property where children were present.

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Southern District Commander Tony Cerritelli said it was still early in the investigation and it was unclear how many shots were fired, whether the man was inside the vehicle at the time of the shooting and how many people witnessed the shooting.

"We're really interested in knowing what led to the fire occurring, what led to the calls being made to police about a person being armed at the residence and all those events leading up to the police attendance and police action," he said.

"All I can say at the moment is that he drove the vehicle at police, police believed that they were in direct threat to their life, and as a result took the action that they did.

"My understanding is that he passed away at the scene."

Police understand that the man was connected to the residence, however they could not confirm his relationship with those at the address.

Commander Cerritelli said it was a traumatic event.

"This is a tragic event for all involved, including the male, the family, the attending police, all emergency workers. It's a terrible event and there are no winners out of it," he said.

"It's the one thing we really don't want to occur.

"Unfortunately it's happened. We now need to work through the process and make sure that we get the facts as they unfolded and make sure it's properly investigated and reported on for the coroner."

In a statement, Tasmania Police said all those present - including emergency services and the man's family members - would be offered counselling and support following the shooting.

Professional Standards has started investigating the shooting, which Tasmania Police have confirmed will be fully independent of police.

Commander Cerritelli said the public could be assured that all avenues would be investigated thoroughly.

"It's really important that there is independent oversight in terms of not utilising our routine criminal investigation areas," he said.

"All the areas that are doing the investigation will work for Professional Standards - that's an arm of the department that will run events like this independently.

"It will report to a commander in a different command. They will be looking at all the things I've talked about - the forensic element of it, the coronial investigation that needs to occur.

"It's about make sure that the investigation has integrity, but we also have to remember that we're dealing with people as well."