diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/network/aci/aci_rest.py b/lib/ansible/modules/network/aci/aci_rest.py
index 9cbbcccac21..44fb9f2b184 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/network/aci/aci_rest.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/network/aci/aci_rest.py
@@ -352,6 +352,7 @@ def main():
         module.fail_json(msg='Failed to find REST API payload type (neither .xml nor .json).')
 
     aci = ACIRESTModule(module)
+    aci.result['status'] = -1  # Ensure we always return a status
 
     # We include the payload as it may be templated
     payload = content