NSW parly on alert after Canada shooting

The NSW parliament remains on alert after a fatal shooting in the Canadian capital Ottawa.

A gunman killed a soldier who was guarding a war memorial in the capital before storming Canada's parliament buildings where he was shot dead as politicians and other staff scrambled to safety.

When asked if he was confident of NSW parliament security arrangements, Premier Mike Baird said on Thursday: "We are on alert, we are taking precautions."

"The state is being protected."

He explained that security was already beefed up in Macquarie Street and at other public buildings in NSW following the recent upgrade to the national terror threat level.

"I can assure you there is absolutely no complacency from me, there's no complacency from government, from the agencies and from the authorities that are looking after us," Mr Baird said.

"As we can see from events around the world, we can't be complacent and we certainly are not.