The Purple-crowned Fairy-wren is territorial, chooses a single mate and lives in pairs or small groups (often holding the same territory for consecutive years). However, towards the end of the breeding season larger groups may be encountered when the juveniles of the year are still with the parents.

Only the dominant male and female breed but other group members may help in caring for the young; feeding and protecting them. Males are most often helpers as females tend to leave the nest earlier. Young males may stay in the parental territory for a long time and may inherit it.

In the VRD, nesting began in March at the end of the wet season with a peak in May. The last nest was found in September. Only females build nests and incubate the eggs but the male can often be seen accompanying the female back and forth to the nest (especially during building). He will frequently feed the female.

They build a dome nest that in the VRD is predominantly located in river grass and built almost entirely out of the same grass. On average nests are 40 cm high.

Average clutch size is three chicks, and groups may produce more than one brood in a season. Females will often re-nest after a nesting failure (up to four times). Foraging for insects is often done in family groups and predominantly in river grass (59% of foraging observations). — AnnaMarie van Doorn