diff --git a/pkg/controller/utils/utils.go b/pkg/controller/utils/utils.go
index 9d0f4a244..765d91511 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/utils/utils.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/utils/utils.go
@@ -70,6 +70,12 @@ func LoadInfrastructureRegion(c client.Client, logger log.FieldLogger) (string,
 		logger.WithError(err).Error("error loading Infrastructure region")
 		return "", err
 	}
+	if infra.Status.PlatformStatus == nil {
+		// Older clusters may have an Infrastructure object without the PlatformStatus fields.
+		// Send back an empty region and the AWS client will use default settings.
+		// The permissions simulation will also simply not fill out the region for simulations.
+		return "", nil
+	}
 	return infra.Status.PlatformStatus.AWS.Region, nil
 }