"I'm of the belief that the government should pay up to the point where they have forewarned impending action/costs."
Yes, but this is not an ordinary situation.
The Government pays nothing. It acts on behalf of the people. Neither the Government or the people expected that some returning Australians would willfully ignore "self isolation" procedures and put other Australians in jeopardy. Requiring this enforced quarantine.
It is amazing that the Government decided to make the cost of this quarantine free to the traveler.
Your sister could have adopted the same attitude as your Mother but didn't and so must bear responsibility for her decision.
Why should tax payers pay for the miscalculations of others ?
If I make a poor judgement in a volatile share market, should the Australian tax payer pay for it ?
"Could you imaging if the government made something that was legal into illegal overnight, and then retrospectively arrested or fined people for doing what was legal at the time. "
