"Stop the killing, stop the dying."

That was the mantra of the police officer who single-handedly confronted and shot dead a man who fatally stabbed six people at a Sydney shopping centre.

NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott, hailed a hero for bringing an end to Joel Cauchi's stabbing rampage at Bondi Junction Westfield.

Accepting the NSW Police Commissioner's Valour Award during a ceremony at the Goulburn police academy, Insp Scott maintained her efforts in approaching the knife-wielding man were instinctual.

"At the end of the day, it came down to my training," Inspector Scott said. 

"Stop the killing, stop the dying."

While grateful for the accolades, Insp Scott said she would not have been able to do her job without the support of others.

"You are only as strong as the people around you and that goes to my incredible family, the other first responders both at the scene and at the hospital and the extraordinary acts of bravery that we saw from everyday civilians," she said.

It was also important to remember the victims, their families and friends, who would forever deal with the "unfathomable tragedy", Inspector Scott said.

Inspector Scott was performing routine checks near the shopping centre when the incident unfolded on the Saturday afternoon of April 13.

After bystanders directed her to the scene, the officer approached the 40-year-old Queensland man on level five of the complex as shoppers fled and others lay injured.

When Cauchi refused to put the knife down, Inspector Scott fired one shot to his chest, sending him to the ground.

She then walked over and gave him CPR until paramedics arrived but Cauchi was unable to be revived.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised the officer's courage in responding to danger.

"There is no doubt that she saved lives," he told those gathered at a memorial for the victims in April.

"It's a reminder that those people who wear uniform are people who rush to danger, not away from it."

NSW Premier Chris Minns also praised the officer's "instinctive bravery" as she "ran towards danger" and "without a shadow of a doubt, saved many, many lives".

Mr Cauchi's family later issued a statement, saying Inspector Scott "was only doing her job to protect others, and we hope she is coping alright".

Six people were killed in the attack with another dozen injured.

Five women – Ashlee Good, 38, Dawn Singleton, 25, Pikria Darchia, 55, Jade Young, 47, and Yixuan Cheng, 27 – were killed, along with security guard Faraz Tahir, 30.