Taking the exam in a different country

[EnglishLover]

Hello!
I wonder if taking the exam in a different country will give different band score for the same candidate. I have couple of friends who did IELTS in Australia and could not reach each band seven (speaking and writing), even after attending 8 exams, but achieved eight each band in one sitting in their home countries, Lebanon and Sri Lanka. How does this happen? Would that be a good idea to take the test in another country?
Thank you!

[Cliff.IELTS.Examiner]

All IELTS examiners take the same training, are subject to the same checks, and follow the same guidelines. I have spoken to many examiners who have worked overseas and there is no reason to expect a different rating in another country. if an individual writing/speaking examiner does not rate to standard it's likely that there will be a "jagged profile" (a significant difference between that examiner's rating and one of the other scores) and the script or recording will be re-assessed. Speaking and writing are usually within a band of the listening and reading test scores, which are not subject to individual interpretation. So you see, it's not possible for any major differences to occur in assessment between countries.