all they have to do is say they want to appeal and that they are sorry and that’s it
This sounds like PR spin rather than an actual change. Possibly having more meetings before an initial decision that can be appealed does not actually sound like a change to the appeal process itself.
And that’s if the elders haven’t decided the person has ‘disassociated by their actions’, in which case there is no right of appeal anyway. There has been no stated change to the policy around disassociation.