After retiring from public service in 1985, Dunn served as Chairman of the Brisbane China Committee, in this capacity actively furthering Australia's relationship with China. He was also a Visiting Professor in the School of Modern Asian Studies at Griffith University and Adjunct Professor in the Department of History at the University of Queensland. He wrote extensively on Sino-Australian relations and the teaching of the Chinese language. Dunn died in Brisbane on 5 November 2005 at the age of 82.
