In the 2016 season, he featured in 13 of 16 games for the side, starting on all but two occasions. Butler formed a back row partnership with n internationals Pocock and Scott Fardy over the course of the season, starting at number 8 alongside the pair in the quarter-final defeat to . Butler had a slow start to the 2017 season, with a hamstring injury keeping him out of the opening rounds. He went on to play in a total of 11 games for the season, starting in just four of them. It was announced in July 2017 that Butler would leave Brumbies at the end of the 2017 season. He played his final game for the Brumbies on 21 July 2017 in a quarter-final defeat to the . During his time with the Brumbies, he made a total of 60 appearances, scoring five tries.