[4] Fairbairn-Dunlop lived in Samoa from 1981 to 2005, where she worked for aid organisations based in the Pacific such as UNDP, UNIFEM and UNESCO.

[5] On her return to New Zealand, she was appointed the inaugural director of Va’aomanu Pasifika, the Pacific Studies department at Victoria University of Wellington.

[5] In 2013 she was appointed president of PACIFICA, an organisation which aims to help Pacific Island women to participate in and contribute to public life in New Zealand.

[7] In the 2008 New Year Honours, Fairbairn-Dunlop was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to research on families.

[6][8] In the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was promoted to Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to education and the Pacific community.