diff --git a/changelog_entry.yaml b/changelog_entry.yaml
index e69de29b..fe8ca84a 100644
--- a/changelog_entry.yaml
+++ b/changelog_entry.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+- bump: patch
+  changes:
+    fixed:
+    - Model and data versions are always available.
diff --git a/policyengine/simulation.py b/policyengine/simulation.py
index 93fb5a94..670cff67 100644
--- a/policyengine/simulation.py
+++ b/policyengine/simulation.py
@@ -140,11 +140,13 @@ def _set_data(self):
                 )
                 version = self.options.data_version
 
-                file_path = download(
+                file_path, version = download(
                     filepath=filename,
                     gcs_bucket=bucket,
                     version=version,
+                    return_version=True,
                 )
+                self.data_version = version
                 filename = str(Path(file_path))
             else:
                 # If it's a local file, we can't infer the version.
@@ -335,16 +337,16 @@ def check_model_version(self) -> None:
         """
         Check the package versions of the simulation against the current package versions.
         """
+        package = f"policyengine-{self.options.country}"
+        try:
+            installed_version = metadata.version(package)
+            self.model_version = installed_version
+        except metadata.PackageNotFoundError:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"Package {package} not found. Try running `pip install {package}`."
+            )
         if self.options.model_version is not None:
             target_version = self.options.model_version
-            package = f"policyengine-{self.options.country}"
-            try:
-                installed_version = metadata.version(package)
-                self.model_version = installed_version
-            except metadata.PackageNotFoundError:
-                raise ValueError(
-                    f"Package {package} not found. Try running `pip install {package}`."
-                )
             if installed_version != target_version:
                 raise ValueError(
                     f"Package {package} version {installed_version} does not match expected version {target_version}. Try running `pip install {package}=={target_version}`."
diff --git a/policyengine/utils/data/caching_google_storage_client.py b/policyengine/utils/data/caching_google_storage_client.py
index 10de203a..bfb1b1ff 100644
--- a/policyengine/utils/data/caching_google_storage_client.py
+++ b/policyengine/utils/data/caching_google_storage_client.py
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ def download(
         key: str,
         target: Path,
         version: Optional[str] = None,
+        return_version: bool = False,
     ):
         """
         Atomically write the latest version of the cloud storage blob to the target path.
@@ -49,6 +50,8 @@ def download(
                 f"Copying downloaded data for {bucket}, {key} to {target}"
             )
             atomic_write(target, data)
+            if return_version:
+                return version
             return
         raise Exception("Expected data for blob to be cached as bytes")
 
diff --git a/policyengine/utils/data_download.py b/policyengine/utils/data_download.py
index fd16adcf..2bf60387 100644
--- a/policyengine/utils/data_download.py
+++ b/policyengine/utils/data_download.py
@@ -11,12 +11,15 @@ def download(
     filepath: str,
     gcs_bucket: str,
     version: Optional[str] = None,
-) -> str:
+    return_version: bool = False,
+) -> Tuple[str, Optional[str]]:
     logging.info("Using Google Cloud Storage for download.")
-    download_file_from_gcs(
+    version = download_file_from_gcs(
         bucket_name=gcs_bucket,
         file_name=filepath,
         destination_path=filepath,
         version=version,
     )
+    if return_version:
+        return filepath, version
     return filepath
diff --git a/policyengine/utils/google_cloud_bucket.py b/policyengine/utils/google_cloud_bucket.py
index 3516b231..19f2f5ac 100644
--- a/policyengine/utils/google_cloud_bucket.py
+++ b/policyengine/utils/google_cloud_bucket.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ def download_file_from_gcs(
     file_name: str,
     destination_path: str,
     version: str = None,
-) -> None:
+) -> str:
     """
     Download a file from Google Cloud Storage to a local path.
 
@@ -35,9 +35,13 @@ def download_file_from_gcs(
         destination_path (str): The local path where the file will be saved.
 
     Returns:
-        None
+        version (str): The version of the file that was downloaded, if available.
     """
 
     return _get_client().download(
-        bucket_name, file_name, Path(destination_path), version=version
+        bucket_name,
+        file_name,
+        Path(destination_path),
+        version=version,
+        return_version=True,
     )
diff --git a/tests/utils/data/test_google_cloud_bucket.py b/tests/utils/data/test_google_cloud_bucket.py
index e1e2abe9..71fd6ea4 100644
--- a/tests/utils/data/test_google_cloud_bucket.py
+++ b/tests/utils/data/test_google_cloud_bucket.py
@@ -19,13 +19,17 @@ def setUp(self):
     def test_download_uses_storage_client(self, client_class):
         client_instance = client_class.return_value
         download_file_from_gcs(
-            "TEST_BUCKET", "TEST/FILE/NAME.TXT", "TARGET/PATH", version=None
+            "TEST_BUCKET",
+            "TEST/FILE/NAME.TXT",
+            "TARGET/PATH",
+            version=None,
         )
         client_instance.download.assert_called_with(
             "TEST_BUCKET",
             "TEST/FILE/NAME.TXT",
             Path("TARGET/PATH"),
             version=None,
+            return_version=True,
         )
 
     @patch(