This paper summarizes the role site-specific seismic hazard analyses can play in seismic design and assessment in New Zealand. The additional insights and potential improvements in the seismic design and assessment process through a better understanding of the ground motion hazard are examined through a comparative examination with prescriptive design guidelines. Benefits include the utilization of state-of-the-art knowledge, improved representation of site response, reduced conservatism, and the determination of dominant seismic source properties, among others. The paper concludes with a discussion of these relative benefits so that the efficacy of site-specific hazard analysis for a particular project can be better judged by the engineer.