Thanks for replies Barry & Roberto.
@Barry: yes, I'm definitely clicking on ref line node. Been using this feature in my own office for quite a while now so very familiar with the interface (not sure when functionality was added, but I've been using ArchiCAD since 1997)
As noted in my initial post, this problem seems to be machine-specific, or rather installation-specific, as it's not happening with my own installation in my office - only in the office of the architects I'm currently working for.
No-one here has any idea how it happened and have just been working around it.
Has anyone seen this before and managed to fix?
ArchiCAD 24 (build 5004)
MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) Apple M1 Pro 32GB RAM | MacOS 12.0.1
Melbourne, Australia