Maybe Golden Shrimp Plant (Pachystachys lutea)?

any chance of a picture guest

when I read candle I thought of horse chestnut [Aesculus hippocastanum] as that is what the flower spike is called.

Well, Horse Chestnut isn't the same family as Justicia, and there is a lot of Australia where Horse Chestnut won't grow, especially where Justicia does, but it's not impossible. I just thought of another possibility, the Zebra Plant (Aphelandra squarrosa).