Australia is a multicultural society and this has important implications for the health care worker. The aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of occupational therapists who work with clients from non‐English speaking backgrounds (NESB). The ‘cross‐cultural therapy questionnaire’ was developed by the author and distributed to 65 occupational therapists employed in either the South‐Western Sydney Area Health Service or Western Sydney Area Health Service. Issues explored in this questionnaire included barriers to cross‐cultural care, strategies employed to overcome these barriers and theoretical models used to guide practice with ethnic clients. It was found that the majority of respondents experienced a number of obstacles to cross‐cultural care within occupational therapy practice. An extensive list of strategies for overcoming cross‐cultural barriers was compiled. The implications of these results for the profession of occupational therapy are discussed and future research directions are suggested.