Passengers ultimately are the only ones responsible for making sure that they are in compliance with visa regulations. A quick TIMATIC check would have revealed:

National Philippines (PH) /Transit Australia (AU)
Destination Philippines (PH)
Australia (AU)
TWOV (Transit Without Visa):
Visa required, except for Holders of onward tickets for a max. transit time of 8 hours:

The intent was good - the execution was not. They should have called BOTH airlines and checked not just the (1) baggage situation but also checked whether the (2) transit time would have been sufficient and (3) how and where they would obtain their boarding passes BEFORE they booked the flights - isn't this just basic pre-planning homework, ESPECIALLY when transiting a third country?

Look, if people are savvy enough to find cheap fares, then they are also savvy enough to understand that international travel does not work unless immigration and transit requirements are met. These are foreign passport holders in New Zealand, clearly proving that they have sufficient international travel experience to understand the gravity of regulations.

Whether it's possible or not I don't know - but to make their flights on Saturday, looks like they would need to ditch checking bags and only travel with carry-ons.