The property industry is calling for the creation of a federal Minister for Urban Affairs to improve the planning of Australia's capital cities.

An industry-commissioned report has found that inconsistent and contradictory planning approaches are delaying the development of cities.

The report also ranks the planning approaches of state governments, finding Adelaide the best and Sydney the worst.

The chief executive of the Green Building Council of Australia, Romilly Madew, says governments must improve planning now.

"What the report highlighted was that there is an inconsistent approach across a number of different criteria. So cities may have a strong planning regime but then that doesn't support population growth or environmental issues," she said.

"Cities need a holistic approach to the way they deal with planning.

"Not one city was marked well in holistic approach across the whole strategic planning of our cities," she added.

"So if you think about how we get to work, where we are building our buildings, but then also the issues of climate change and infrastructure, there was no consistency - all the departments deal individually rather than working together."

Ms Madew says the report has found that current approaches to planning will not meet future needs.