Police taser armed man outside parliament

Police have tasered an armed man outside Parliament House in Canberra after he refused to hand over a knife.

The man, believed to be in his 30s and wearing jeans and a shirt, was detained outside the ministerial wing of the building about 12.30pm (AEDT) on Thursday.

Officers attempted to persuade the man to hand over the knife, but when negotiations failed they tasered him.

He was restrained on the ground until an ambulance arrived about 1pm.

He was then taken into custody.

The public road around Parliament House was cordoned off during the incident.

Police said there were no national security concerns.

The incident occurred amid a heightened level of awareness following a terror attack in Paris in which 12 people were shot dead at the offices of a weekly magazine.