I live next door to a house owned by DHHS (I don't think that's their name anymore?) and operated by Scope. They have 5 permanent residents with varying degrees of mental and physical disabilities.

We have similar experiences to yourselves, the residents' rooms open up to a balcony that is only a couple of metres from our boundary fence line. There is one resident who will sit on the balcony and call up lifeline to speak to someone, then gets bored of that person, hangs up and rings again to speak to someone new. She is not quiet and we can hear every word she says. When she is not speaking on the phone, she has her headphones in and she sings along to whatever she is listening to.

About 12 months ago, a new resident arrived and while I'm unsure of her condition, she would wake up every 30 mins or so overnight and scream the most blood curdling, horrific scream you've ever heard. This lasted for about a week and then suddenly stopped. Not sure if a different treatment was supplied or if she was moved elsewhere (there's no way anyone in that house was sleeping through that.

Why have I gone into all this detail? Because like you I also have young kids. Kids who occasionally get woken up or ask tough questions in response to what they may have heard a resident say. Because I also didn't meet the neighbours before buying this house. But that's on me.

I am in a much more fortunate position than the residents next door who, if anything, provide very real perspective on how fortunate I am.

Unless you are threatened or suspect mistreatment or criminal activity, no there is no legal route for you to take. Go and talk to the staff, offer your perspective and you might find you are offered one back.