The influence of diffusive losses on residual dust charge in a complex plasma afterglow has been investigated. The dust residual charges were simulated based on a model developed to describe complex plasma decay. The experimental and simulated data show that the transition from ambipolar to free diffusion in the decaying plasma plays a significant role in determining the residual dust particle charges. The presence of positively charged dust particles is explained by a broadening of the charge distribution function in the afterglow plasma.