A suburb located in the southern portion of the City of Shellharbour local government area in New South Wales, Blackbutt sits 5.7 kilometres east of Albion Park and 107 kilometres southwest of Sydney. It is bordered by Shellharbour City Centre to the north, Oak Flats to the west, Flinders to the east and Croom to the south. The New Lake Entrance Road separates it from Oak Flats, while Princes Highway separates it from Croom. The eastern half of the suburb is home to the Blackbutt Forest Reserve, which occupies about 182 hectares of land and offers visitors various recreational activities, environmental education, nature trails, picnic grounds and koala encounters.